RWBY: The Second Arc
by K'Pow6
Summary: It's been six years since the end of Vol. 3, and Jaune is now a professional huntsmen. The victory against Salem came at a great cost, and left devastating consequences. Remnant is a very different place than when Jaune first stepped into Beacon and new threats lurk in this new chapter of his life. Future AU centered around a badass yet charming Jaune. Eventual romance.
1. Six Years

A large Ursa stalked though the forest, attracted to a loud noise echoing through the trees. As it got closer, the sound stopped. The Ursa paused, confused. But then, something irresistibly sweet caught its nose: the unmistakable scent of honey. The Ursa followed the smell into a clearing. The honey was stored in a container located in front of a pile of chopped wood. The Ursa was immediately alarmed when it saw that an ax lay by the pile, but relaxed after realizing no one was wielding it. It took one step towards the honey. That's when a wolf leapt out right in front of it, growling furiously. The Ursa responded with a growl of its own. It had dealt with wildlife before, they were no threat. The Ursa prepared to attack, but never got the chance to make another move.

Jaune swiftly leaped from the tree branch he was crouched on and took off the Grimm's head with one clean stroke from his sword. He watched as the creature's body disintegrated before sheathing his weapon. He looked over at the wolf and grinned. "Good boy Ace! He never saw it coming." The wolf dropped his aggressive stance and sat upright, tilting his head slightly to the side, all signs of hostility gone. It let out a short high pitched howl. "Seriously?" Jaune spread his arms in exasperation. "I literally just gave you one." The wolf howled again. Jaune's shoulders sagged. "Alright fine, you win." He tossed the wolf a treat from his pocket, who caught it in midair and began demolishing it. "But that's it for today." Jaune finished, pointing a stern finger. He smiled.

The wolf was rescued by Jaune half a year ago when his mother had been killed by Grimm. Jaune had heard the commotion and was able to kill the beowulf before it could kill the cub. He was barely a few days old then, and Jaune had raised him up ever since. He named him Ace because the wolf's pointed ears reminded him of the letter 'A'.

Ace now lay comfortably on the ground as Jaune finished chopping his firewood. The sun was beginning to set. The young huntsman placed all of the wood into his backpack and slid it on his back. He picked up the jar of honey he had collected and placed the ax on the side of his utility belt opposite to his sword. "Let's go buddy." He called to Ace, who got up and trotted after him, tail wagging.

It took about half an hour for them to reach Jaune's home; a small cabin perched on a small hill in the center of a small clearing. Everything about Jaune's home was small. But it was also neat and clean. The cabin had four rooms. A kitchen, a living room, the bedroom, and the bathroom. Everything inside was well organized and fitted with hardwood floors. There was even a backyard for growing crops. Jaune opened the front door and Ace rushed in and jumped straight on to the couch.

Jaune placed his gathered wood into the fireplace and started a small fire. He headed into the kitchen and fixed a small dinner from the groceries he had bought earlier from the nearby village. The result was a savory beef stew. He filled two bowls and carried them into the living room. One bowl was placed on the floor for Ace and the other one he ate from himself. It was dark out by then and the fireplace dimly lit the room. The two companions enjoyed a quiet meal. Jaune did the dishes afterwards, put out the fire, and took a shower before crawling into bed. Ace leapt on and curled up next to him.

Jaune had both hands behind his head as he laid down on his pillow. It was hard to believe he had almost been living in Mistral for five years. It had been six years since Beacon had fallen. Six years since he had lost Pyrrha. He still thought about her all the time. When Pyrrha died, Jaune had been devastated. He didn't think it could get any worse. Luckily, he had the support of his family and friends to carry him through one of the lowest points of his life. Pyrrha's passing had inspired him and his friends to hunt for the truth. The journey brought him, Ruby, Nora, and Ren to Mistral, where they found the mastermind behind everything. A woman named Salem with power that knew no bounds. With help from Ruby's uncle, they were able to put up a good fight, but in the end, Salem managed to get the upper hand, despite the overwhelming numbers.

Just when it seemed like it was over, it was none other then Ruby who stepped up to the challenge. It turned out she had some godly powers of her own. The fifteen year old singled handedly took Salem out. Jaune remembered the brilliant flash of pure white light, and just like that, Salem was gone. But Ruby had used up too much energy. Her aura couldn't provide all of the power she needed so she had to tap in to her own life force. Jaune could still remember holding her in his arms as she murmured her dying words weakly to him. _'Please don't be sad Jaune. Everything will be ok now. Take care of everyone for me alright? And tell Yang that I'm sorry...'_

Jaune shuddered at the memory, feelings from the past were rushing back at him. Ace picked his head up and whimpered softly. Jaune shook his head to clear his thoughts. "It's alright buddy." He soothed as he petted the wolf's head. But it hadn't been back then. Jaune had lost two of the closest people he had in his life within one year. Ruby was the first genuine friend he had ever made and Pyrrha was so much more. He was even getting teary eyed now just thinking about it. He quickly blinked the tears away. He shouldn't be feeling sad, he had already come to terms with everything five years ago. Admittedly, there had come a point where he didn't feel that living was worth it anymore. Then he realized how selfish and pathetic a thought that was. He wasn't the only one dealing with the loss. Ren and Nora had lost two friends, Weiss had lost her partner, Yang, her sister and Qrow, his niece. Pyrrha's family was also grieving. What right did he have to take the easy way out?

Besides, he also realized that there was no way that either Ruby or Pyrrha would have wanted everyone to be so sad. They were gone, true, but that didn't mean they didn't exist anymore. Jaune had decided on a fateful day five years ago that he would carry on their legacy through his life. He would make sure people could still feel their presence, and he wouldn't let anyone forget the kind of positive impact they had made in their lives. He would be the supporting shoulder to his friends and family, like Pyrrha was to hers. He would try his best to brighten everyone else's days around him, like Ruby always did so naturally. But most importantly, he would continue to protect the people around him and the world he lived in to the best of his abilities, like both Ruby and Pyrrha did so fearlessly.

That newfound motivation was what inspired him to finish out his education at Haven academy, where he had graduated a year ago. He had become a professional huntsman. The whole journey had been long, hard, and filled with pain, but it also brought on a ton of long-lasting friendships and many fond memories. And for the first time, he had found real purpose in life. Through purpose, Jaune had found his happiness again. He knew that Pyrrha and Ruby would always be with him in spirit, and no one would ever be able to take away the good times he had with them in their short stay together at Beacon.

Beacon. Sometimes Jaune couldn't help wishing he could go back in time and relive those days. So much had changed since then. The balance of power had shifted within the four kingdoms. Vale was probably the worst place to be on Remnant right now. The White Fang had taken over completely. All humans and faunus who opposed them were thrown out of the cities and left to fend for themselves. It was the same as being executed. The Grimm population in Vale was out of control. Without the protection provided by a city, it would only be a matter of time before the stragglers would be found by the Grimm. Put simply, if someone wasn't living in Vale as an ally or member of the White Fang, then they weren't living at all. The borders had been closed off, making travel to Vale impossible. Everything going in and out was strictly regulated by the White Fang.

Vacuo wasn't much better off. White Fang influence had also been on the rise in the desert kingdom. Soon after Vale fell, war broke out in Vacuo between the White Fang and those who stood against it. Vacuo was never a rich kingdom to begin with and the war took a heavy toll on its economy. The government didn't last long and the White Fang rose to power over there as well. Nowadays, the resistance force consisted of a number of rag-tag rebels operating through a network of villages outside the cities.

That left Atlas and Mistral as the last two kingdoms still in power. A new pair of CCT towers were constructed so the two kingdoms could communicate. In reaction to the uprising of the White Fang, Atlas had elected to seclude all faunus into various military internment camps throughout the kingdom, where they were kept under strict surveillance. At the same time, Atlas continued to upgrade their military and mass produce weapons and vehicles. The number of military academies had doubled and the size of the Atlesian army was at an all time high. The kingdom had essentially turned into one giant military base.

Mistral had also militarized their army, but not nearly as rapid. The Council of Mistral had focused more on making progressive movements for equality. The idea was that if equality could be achieved, then violence would be avoided. And for the most part it worked. Occasionally, there was the common crook, but most of the people, human and faunus alike, lived together in peace. The academies continued to train hunters, and with each new wave of new graduates, came a new wave of growth. But it wasn't without problems. Atlas had taken notice to Mistral's strategy and strongly disagreed, believing Mistral to be putting both of them into great danger. On the other hand, Mistral believed Atlas was sending the wrong message with the internment camps and advised them to close them down. An agreement over the faunus was never reached and the debate still continued between the two kingdoms. It also didn't help that two out of the nine members of Mistral's council were faunus either. As a result, there was a great deal of tension between the two nations.

Jaune sighed. _What a mess. Things used to be so much simpler._ But he knew there was no use in dwelling in the past. There was only the present moment. And it was up to him to make it better. _Never stop moving forward._ He thought to himself as he closed his eyes. Someone important had said that to him before, but he couldn't quite remember who it was. He fell into a deep sleep before he could figure it out.

 **A/N:**

 **What it is homies, yaboi was feeling a little inspired after watching the finale, so this story was born. This chapter is basically meant to set the current state Remnant is in right now as well as provide a little background on Jaune and what happened over the six year gap. It will be explained more in depth as the story progresses. This was a new idea that just came to me so I thought I'd put it into tangible form lol.**

 **Peace out,**

 **KP6**


	2. Old Faces New Friends

The young knight awoke to something rough rubbing repeatedly over his face as his alarm went off the next morning. He opened his eyes to find Ace licking him. He gently pushed the wolf's head to the side and sat up, turning off his alarm in the process. His clock read Monday 7:00 am. "What do you want?" He grumbled.

A loud howl.

It was the same routine every morning and by now Jaune had gotten used to it. "Hungry?"

The second howl was louder.

"Thought so." Jaune slid his feet to the floor and walked into the kitchen. "Come on then." Ace followed eagerly. The blonde knight grabbed a box of pre packaged meat from the fridge and threw a piece in Ace's bowl. As the wolf greedily ripped through the meat, Jaune took a quick shower and brushed his teeth. He washed his face to clear away any remaining sleepiness and examined himself in the mirror. His once long and messy hair was now shorter in length and neatly brushed to one side. His facial hair consisted of a light stubble and his blue eyes were still as bright as ever. Jaune had turned into a serious head-turner for young women.

He headed back into his room to get changed. His plans for the day didn't involve any fighting so he searched through the casual section of his closet. He wasn't the biggest expert on fashion so all of his clothes were picked for him by his sisters. When he committed to Haven, his family had decided to move to Mistral with him. Luck would have it that they left Vale just before things turned from bad to worse. Jaune thanked Monty everyday for their safety. He knew many weren't as lucky. Other than his parents, Ren and Nora also resided in Mistral. His old teammates from JNPR lived in the capital city, which was only a thirty-minute bullhead ride from where Jaune lived. The two were finally official, not that Jaune was surprised at all. He knew it had always been just a matter of time. The three of them saw each other often. In fact, Jaune was going their apartment later that night for dinner.

The only other person he kept in regular contact with from Beacon was Cardin Winchester, who was a lieutenant in Mistral's armed forces. Cardin was among the last batch of people to make it out of Vale, but his teammates weren't so fortunate. Blaming himself for not being strong enough, Cardin enlisted as soon as he got the chance. He was determined to not let anyone else die because of his inability to defend them. He and Jaune had developed a great mutual respect for each other over the years and had become good friends.

As for the others, Weiss had graduated from Atlas and now held rank in the navy. She would occasionally drop by, but would never stay for long. They had seen even less of her within the last year. The Schnee Dust Company had lost quite a bit of profit ever since Vale and Vacuo had fallen and last time the heiress visited, she had told them that she was managing the company's financial portfolio on top of serving in the military. Jaune could only imagine how busy his old friend was. But atleast Yang was with her.

When it started becoming clear that Vale wouldn't last, Weiss didn't hesitate to personally bring Yang and what remained of her family over to Atlas. The brawler had visited a couple times with Weiss, but other than that, Jaune didn't see much of her either. He was just glad the two of them still had each other, which was a lot more than he could say for Blake.

Blake. No one had seen her ever since she ran off six years ago. No one knew where she was. At first, it had everyone worried sick. But as year after year passed and still nothing was heard from her, they had began to slowly accept the fact that it was possible she wasn't around anymore. It was not a subject any of them enjoyed bringing up, so they tended to avoid doing so. Jaune personally still held on to the hope that Blake was still out there. She was a tough girl, and he could see her being a stubborn survivor. Maybe she was even apart of the group of rebels fighting the White Fang in Vacuo. Team SSSN had opted to stay back in Vale and continue looking for her, maybe they found her and were now evading the White Fang together. Jaune just had to believe that somehow someway she was still alive. He hoped he was right. He didn't want to lose anymore people that he deeply cared for. If it was up to him, he wouldn't hesitate to head out and look for her. But there was simply just no way in. Travel to Vale and Vacuo was forbidden by both Atlas and Mistral and The White Fang didn't allow anything or anyone to leave either. Jaune could only pray for the best.

The blonde knight sighed as he picked his outfit for the day. A light blue button up shirt with beige joggers and a pair of white sneakers. There was a reason why he tried avoiding thinking about his friends too often as it never put him in the best of moods. But he couldn't help it. He also couldn't help but wonder about Ozpin. He knew Goodwitch and Qrow still worked closely with Ironwood in Atlas, but what became of the ex-headmaster was still a mystery. Jaune took another deep sigh. He had to stop thinking right now or else he'd be unsettled for the rest of the day. He checked the mirror to make sure he looked on-point, then walked out of his room and towards the front door. "Come on Ace!" He called. The wolf came padding to his side. He opened door and they left the cabin to head into the village he lived next to. It didn't take them long to reach it.

The village was called Lorraine. It was about a ten minute walk from his cabin and was rather large in size while being surprisingly technologically advanced. Lorraine was a hotspot for traveling huntsmen and huntresses due to its location and because of the fact, not many Grimm dared to go near it. For the most part, the creatures hung around in the deeper parts of the forest around the swamps. Any stragglers young or foolish enough to venture close to town never lasted long. That was one of the reasons Jaune decided to live in Lorraine. Of course, the dark creatures had taken an interest in Jaune's cabin when he had first moved in, but they shortly found that out to be just as bad of an idea. The other reason was because it was a lot quieter out in the woods than it was in the city and Jaune liked that. It was nice knowing that he could come home everyday and instantly be calmed and relaxed by the forest.

That being said, Jaune did spend a lot of his time in the city, namely the capital, Mistral City. The capital was where he found most of his jobs. It was also where most of his friends lived. The only other city he visited was the coastal city of Normandy, but that was only because his family was there.

As Jaune walked down the central path of the village, he saw three young girls intently staring at him with big smiles. He smiled back and waved naturally, causing all three to squeal with excitement. It was a sight that he had become accustomed to seeing. Although it took awhile, the young knight had managed get over his own discomfort around girls. He learned how to be himself, and most girls loved him for it.

Jaune walked into the village inn. Owned by a faunus couple, the inn was perhaps the most popular spot in the village; known for its great tasting food and comfortable living quarters. Jaune had come to know the owners quite well over the last couple of months, and it had become routine for him to leave Ace with them whenever he had to travel. He walked past the dining area and into the front office.

The owners' daughter sat behind the counter typing. Aside from being the attractive young lady who was destined to eventually take ownership of the inn, she also happened to be Jaune's best friend in the village.

"Whatcha up to?" Jaune greeted with a grin.

The girl looked up. "Oh hey Jaune!" She beamed. "You here to help me with this inventory report?"

"And take away all the fun you're having?" Jaune shook his head. "I would never, Ahri."

Ahri tilted her head. "Oh you're so funny." She exclaimed sarcastically. The fox faunus got up and stretched. "But what's up?"

"I'm going out again, so I was going to see if I could leave Ace here for the day." Jaune explained.

"Of course you can! Is that even a question?" Ahri walked around the counter to kneel down next to the wolf. "Awww Ace, who's a good boy? That's right, you are!" She cooed as she petted Ace, who wagged his tail.

Jaune had to smile. "I'll be back to get him sometime tomorrow."

Ahri stood up. "Sure, take as long as you need." She smirked. "I don't think he'll miss you that much anyway." Ace yapped instantly, as if agreeing.

Jaune shot Ace a glare. "Well aren't you loyal?" He muttered with heavy sarcasm.

"Oh don't feel bad Jaune, we both know he's always liked me more." Ahri joked.

"Yeah, sure seems that way doesn't it?" Jaune shrugged. "Well I guess I can't really blame him. Everyone likes you more, especially young boys like Ace."

"Ok stop, that's just gross." Ahri laughed as she went to sit back down. Ace followed her. "You're such a bad influence on him."

Jaune grinned. "You're right. Well I'll be going then. Catch you later!" He didn't want to take up too much more of Ahri's time as she could be quite busy. They'd have more time to hangout during her off days.

Ahri waved as Jaune walked out. "Don't be a stranger!"

The town was just beginning to wake up as Jaune made his way to the transport station. He waved to a few people as he walked by. Jaune was quite well-known around Lorraine as he frequented it a lot in his day to day life. The blonde knight liked to keep a friendly relationship with the town as it kept him in good spirit. But more importantly, it made obtaining information easier. Changes were occurring everyday with the unstable condition Remnant was currently in, so Jaune needed to make sure he was up to speed with all of the major current events. The townspeople were the perfect source, as they would pick up on all the things passerby hunters would say to each other.

Looking back, Jaune was surprised to see how much he had grown. He had gone from a disorganized heap of mess from his first days at Beacon to a legitimate huntsman who thought things out and planned accordingly. _Pyhrra would've been so happy._ The sudden thought struck him with instant sorrow. But he managed to shake it off. _Come on Jaune, you've come to terms with this already. Be happy! For her._

Jaune almost tripped over himself. He had been so lost in thought that he hadn't realized he was at the station already. Jaune sighed. He went through the day's plan quickly in his head. He was going to meet his team from Haven for a quick reunion, pick up some job requests, and then head over to Ren and Nora's for dinner. He liked planning all of his social activities on the same day so that they wouldn't come into conflict with his job. The station was still empty when the first bullhead landed and Jaune rode to the capital alone.

Mistral City was quite different from Lorraine. It was massive in size and its buildings stretched all over the landscape. The capital building stood atop a mountain peak in the center of the city and could be seen from miles away. It was by far the largest building in Mistral and was decorated with only the finest jewels. Jaune's eyes were briefly caught by the sunlight gleaming off the top of the building as his ride descended to the ground. Mistral was a beautiful city and it reminded him of Vale in a lot of ways. However, one key difference Jaune had noticed was that Mistral seemed to be more integrated as one big district rather than a collection of small sectors like Vale was. As a result, there was less distinction between rich and poor.

Jaune wasn't complaining. If there was anything he couldn't stand, it was a snob with money who thought they were better than everyone else. He got off the airship and took a cab. _"Valoran's Diner"_ was the restaurant's name, and Jaune and his team had made it a small tradition of theirs to have breakfast there at least once a month. The young huntsman managed to get there a few minutes ahead of schedule, but ended up being the last one to show up anyways.

He approached a table where three casually dressed huntresses were seated. Akali Kinkou, Caitlyn Yordle, and Luxanna 'Lux' Crownguard. They were his teammates from Haven, Team JACL (Jackal). The four of them had grown incredibly close in their four years as a team and kept in regular contact with each other.

Lux noticed Jaune as he walked over. "Look who finally decided to show." She tisked playfully. "The usual slowpoke Jaune!"

"Uh, don't know what time you've been looking at, but I'm actually 3 minutes early." Jaune grinned as he took a seat next to Akali, across from Lux and Caitlyn.

"Still the last one here!" Lux cheerfully pointed out. "Nice try, slowpoke Jaune."

"Slowpoke? Really, that's the best you got?" Jaune deadpanned.

"It suits you!" Lux shot back.

Jaune gave up. "Fine, you win." She always did, somehow someway. "Hey guys." He greeted his other two friends.

"How are you?" Akali responded casually.

"Eh, same old same old." Jaune shrugged. "Just living life."

"That's a nice shirt." Caitlyn commented in her ever so sophisticated accent. "The color fits you."

"Yeah, my sisters basically restocked my whole wardrobe." Jaune laughed. "I've only been wearing what they've gotten for me lately."

Caitlyn took a sip of her drink. "Your sisters have good taste."

"Thank Monty for that." Lux smirked. "Who knows what other kinds of walking monstrosities you'd come up with next by yourself?"

Jaune shrugged again. "Can't disagree with you there. Last time I dressed myself with stuff I bought, I had some random guy tell me I looked like a watermelon."

Lux burst out giggling and Caitlyn nearly spit out her drink. Akali eyed Jaune with amusement. "Might've been a compliment." She suggested, even though she knew it probably wasn't.

"Pfffft, as if." Lux snickered. "I've seen him try to pick clothes, and trust me, not even his mom would compliment him."

"Ok, maybe that's going a bit too far..." Jaune protested.

"It's debatable." Caitlyn joined in. "The way you try and match outfits is quite odd. Not very balanced, as Akali would say."

"Balance _is_ everything." Akali agreed.

Jaune shook his head. "You guys are way too much. Let's order some food, I'm starving!"

They began to catch up with each other as they ate. Jaune leaned back after he had finished and let himself relax. Lux had just told a funny story and was laughing out loud with Caitlyn while Akali smiled along. Looking back, the blonde knight couldn't have asked for better teammates. Akali was calm and composed. Caitlyn was smart and witty. And Lux was always full of energy. He had found himself in an emotional mess when teams were first assigned as memories from Beacon had flooded back to him all at once. The amount of care and support he had received from his team was unreal. There was no way he would've made it through all four years without them. And now, despite all the teasing they put him through, he knew that he could always count on them.

Jaune listened in as the topic of discussion shifted to current events.

"You guys hear about the conference with Atlas tomorrow?" Akali neatly folded her hands on the table.

"Yeah, they're bringing in one of their top generals last I heard of it." Caitlyn nodded.

"Is it Ironwood?" Jaune asked immediately.

"No, it's Pratt." Lux answered. Her brother Garen worked at the Capital building so she usually had the inside scoop on Mistral Politics.

Jaune had heard about Admiral Erwin Pratt, head of the Atlas Navy and a council member. The general consensus was that he was extremely arrogant, but a brilliant tactician nonetheless.

"As far as I know," Lux continued on. "It's just another general meeting."

"There seems to have been a lot of them lately." Akali commented.

"They're trying to ease the tension most likely." Caitlyn mused. "We're not exactly the best of friends right now."

"That's an understatement." Lux sighed. She hated how the two kingdoms couldn't get along, especially now when the White Fang's power was at a record high.

"Is Pratt really the right guy to send for stuff like that?" Jaune was skeptical. "From what I hear, he's an asshole."

"Who knows?" Lux shrugged. "Politics are a headache."

Jaune toyed with the straw of his drink as a period of silence followed. "So what are you guys doing after?" He eventually asked.

"I took a job request from the police a few days ago." Caitlyn informed them. "The Commissioner from Central Station is meeting with me today to fill me in on the details."

"The Commissioner?" Akali raised an eyebrow. "Is it serious?"

"I'm not sure." Caitlyn admitted. "All I know is that they need help catching this bank robber who's been pulling off some pretty high-profile heists."

"I think I saw that in the news actually." Lux's recalled. "It's the one who calls themselves 'C' isn't it?"

"Yeah," Caitlyn nodded. "There's speculation that 'C' may be a group instead of one person though."

"I'm sure you can handle it." Akali said encouragingly. "Not much passes under you."

"I'm not too worried about it." Caitlyn leaned back confidently. "What's going on with you guys?"

"Not much with me." Jaune stated somewhat lamely. "I'll probably just pick up a couple of jobs then head over to Ren and Nora's."

"That's fun." Caitlyn looked thoughtful. "How long has it been?"

"Oh not long at all." Jaune waved off easily. "Two weeks at most. We text all the time though so it's no big deal." He noticed Lux had a huge smile on her face. "What is it?" He asked with a chuckle.

"Garen's got the day off!" Lux exclaimed happily. "We'll probably be hanging around town for the most part, then it's dinner with the whole fam."

"Hey, that's cool." Jaune smiled. "You guys don't get together like that very often."

"I know!" Lux was squealing with excitement by now. "That's why it's going to be perfect!"

"Lux stop," Caitlyn chided playfully. "You're wiggling like a little worm!" Lux stopped and gave Caitlyn a weird look. Then they all burst out laughing, except Akali, who just smiled along like usual.

Jaune nudged Akali with an elbow after the laughter died down. "And what about you?"

"I've got three classes this afternoon." Came the short reply. She taught martial arts to the military as a side job.

"Ouch," Lux grimaced. "I feel sorry for those poor boys already."

"Save some cute ones for me though." Caitlyn winked.

Akali smirked. "No promises."

Lux pulled out her scroll. "Hey guys, get in this selfie!" She made a silly face and stuck out her tongue as she took the picture. Caitlyn put up a peace sign and Jaune gave a natural smile. Akali barely even looked at the camera. Lux looked at the final image and burst out giggling. "I am so posting that."

"Let me see it." Jaune held his hand out, but Lux smacked it away.

"Go check my feed, slowpoke Jaune." She scolded.

Jaune eyed her accusingly. "You just want more views on your profile."

"Mmmmaybe." Lux laughed. "Breakfast with my favs, hashtag besties!" She sang aloud as she typed a caption for the photo.

Caitlyn and Akali looked on in amusement before Caitlyn glanced at her watch. "Well, I better get going, my meeting's in less than an hour."

"Come on, let's leave together." Jaune suggested.

The four of them paid for their food and walked out to the parking lot. Jaune was the only one who didn't own a vehicle. It wasn't that he couldn't afford one, well, maybe that was part of it. But he didn't have much use for one either as he lived in the woods. The blonde knight stretched. "Can I get a ride to Headquarters from someone?"

"Yeah, I got you." Lux chirped. "It's on my way anyways."

"Great, thanks!" Jaune rejoiced.

"Don't thank me." Lux waved off. "We're friends, so there's no need!"

Jaune chucked. "Right, of course."

"Are we still getting together over the weekend?" Akali asked as she swung on to her motorcycle. It was a black racing bike with sharp green accents.

"I'm in, assuming I solve this case by then." Caitlyn called over from her huge blacked-out SUV.

"We can discuss it in the group message when the time comes." Lux pointed out.

Akali gave a short nod before speeding off. Caitlyn pulled out of the parking lot shortly after.

"Come on dude, let's go." Lux led Jaune to her car; a white luxury two-door.

Jaune opened the passenger door and was about to get in when he froze. Across the street stood someone he never thought he'd see again. His first best friend. His first partner. Someone who never let him down. His first _love._ "P-P-Pyrrha?" Jaune felt his heart rate increase rapidly and his blood ran cold.

Pyrrha waved at him and smiled. That smile. It was the same one she had had when they first met in that locker room. The same one she had when she found him in the forest. The same one she used to always give him that let him know that everything was going to be alright.

"Pyrrha." Jaune repeated in a low whisper. He was trembling now and sweat was forming on his forehead. His eyes were completely fixated on Pyrrha.

The honk made him jolt.

"Jaune!" Lux snapped. "What are you doing? I called your name like ten times already." She was seated in the car and had her seatbelt strapped.

Jaune stared at his friend blankly, dumbfounded. He blinked a few times and looked back across the street only to find that there was no one there. Jaune shook his head furiously. His mind was playing tricks on him. Pyrrha was gone. It had all just been his imagination. He forced himself to calm down before getting in the car.

Lux was concerned. "Hey, are you alright?" She asked gently. The huntress had noticed Jaune's state of being. He had been completely transfixed, staring across the street at absolutely nothing and breathing profusely. It was almost as if someone had suddenly cast a spell on him.

"Y-Yeah, fine now." Jaune stuttered. He was still sweating.

Lux wasn't buying it. "No you're not. You look like you just jumped in a pool, and a minute ago it looked like you were having a stroke in the parking lot."

Jaune laughed lamely. "Yeah I guess you're right, it must've been something I ate." He lied, putting on his best smile.

 _You're one terrible liar._ Lux thought to herself as she drove out of the parking lot. But she decided not to press it. Jaune was usually a very friendly and open person, but every once in a while he'd shut himself off and go into a seclusive mode. It had gotten a lot better over time. When they had first been assigned as a team, the blonde knight was as emotionally scarred as they came. It had taken nearly one whole year before he finally opened up to them about his past. Lux couldn't blame him, some of the things he had told them were dark. She could only guess that it was Jaune's past that was bothering him again as she observed him. Her friend was staring out the window with a distant look. She sighed and decided it was best to leave him alone for now.

Jaune was confused. And shocked. And stupefied. And any other emotion that conveyed a clusterfuck. Seeing Pyrrha right there in front of his eyes brought all his past memories back, happy and painful at the same time. It had sent his mind into chaos and he couldn't understand why. He had gotten over his loss of her a long time ago. He was sure of it. So why did seeing her leave him in such a mess? In fact, why did he imagine her in the first place? Could it be that he hand't truly gotten over anything? _No, that's not possible!_ He had gotten the epiphany to carry out her legacy didn't he? Ruby too for that matter. He had found purpose in his life again hadn't he? He knew that they wouldn't want him to be sad and that's how he had found motivation! _But that doesn't mean I don't miss them anymore._

Jaune paused. _But that doesn't mean I don't miss them anymore._ He repeated again in his head. That's when realization dawned on him. Through all these years, he may have finally been able to find a way to cope with losing his friends, but the truth was that he had never stopped missing or thinking about them either. They had had such a big impact on his life that losing them still affected him greatly, even now. _I've never stopped missing them._ Jaune could feel tears begin to gather in his eyes but he willed them away. He would not allow himself to breakdown and risk falling into a dark pit of self pity again. He couldn't afford it. He was a huntsman and he had a duty that was much bigger than himself.

The car pulled to a stop in front of the Hunters' Headquarters. "Here we are." Lux broke the silence. "I believe this is your destination." When Jaune remained silent, Lux resorted to lightly hit him on the shoulder.

The blonde knight broke out of his daze. "Wha-?"

"We're here." Lux repeated.

"Oh we are? Sorry about that." Jaune opened the door to get out but Lux stopped him by grabbing his arm. He turned towards her and they made eye contact.

"You know I'm always here if you want to talk right?" Lux expressed warmly.

Jaune smiled. "Yeah, I know. Thanks Lux."

Lux rolled her eyes. "There you go with the 'thanks' again. Didn't I tell you to knock that off?"

"Yeah, you did." Jaune confirmed. "But still, thanks."

Lux caught his teasing tone and deadpanned. "Ok, get out."

Jaune laughed. "I'll see you later." He closed the door behind him and Lux sped off. A deep sigh. _Come on Jaune, you've got to pull yourself together man._ He took a long look at the blue sky, then he walked into the building. It was time to get back to work.

 **A/N: What's up guys! So some of you may have realized I burrowed some characters from League of Legends. This is because I find it easier to bring in characters from other universes than to sit down and think up OC's. Just my opinion though. You'll probably see some characters from other universes being brought in as well, though their roles won't be too big. Naturally, I own nothing. If you have no idea what LOL is and want to know what Jaune's Haven team looks like, search up lux, akali, and caitlyn on the league of legends wiki or something. As always, thanks for reading and don't hesitate to leave any thoughts, critiques, or comments!**


	3. Reunion

The Hunters' Headquarters sat close to the capital building and was the central activity hub for most huntsmen and huntresses in Mistral City. Job requests were sent in online and processed by the office staff before being posted in the Mission Center. The Mission Center was filled with multiple rows of tall transparent screens. The job selection process was almost identical to the one Jaune and his friends had used at Beacon. Except now, they were larger in variety and more detailed in description.

It was crowded when Jaune entered and he had to wait in line. When it was his turn he tapped on the 'Most Recent' tab for job requests and a list came up. The first one was nothing special. Someone had lost their cat and was offering 350 lien. Jaune inwardly sighed. People really did send all kinds of requests. Especially now, when Grimm activity was relatively low in the region. Mistral had stabilized itself quite well the past couple of years and its progressive moments for the most part brought out good spirits in people. The huntsmen scanned the details of the job and decided to take it. He had a good idea of where to find this cat.

The next job on the list carried a bit more weight. A celebrity was being stalked from her home and was receiving threatening messages. The stalker was apparently no rookie either. They had managed to knockout all the bodyguards who had tried to come after them. On top of that, the police could never seem to locate them either. The stalker was offering to ease off for the price of 5 million lien. The celebrity was offering a million as the reward for catching the person behind it. Jaune accepted that one as well. He had a few tricks up his sleeve that he knew would allow him to catch the stalker.

However, it was the third job that really caught the young huntsmen's eye. A security mission for the meeting with Atlas tomorrow; requested directly by the Mistral High Command. Jaune narrowed his eyes. The description said that Admiral Pratt would be arriving with a force of around twenty airships. That was an abnormally large number, especially for a general meeting. Jaune knew there was something bigger going on and the Mistral Council must've thought so as well. There were a total of 25 spots, with 8 being filled already.

There was a restriction placed on the job. Only hunters ranked First Class or above were qualified. Jaune shrugged. It didn't affect him, he had achieved the status last month. He accepted the mission. It was a Government mission so he had to electronically sign a contract before he could finalize the process. Deciding that was enough to keep him busy for the time being, he tapped the 'finish' box at the bottom of the screen.

'Are you sure you want to accept these three jobs?' The screen read.

Jaune tapped the check mark.

'Please place your hand on the scanner.'

Jaune pressed his right hand against the scanner beside the screen.

A picture of himself came up. 'Identity confirmed: Jaune Arc - Tier: First Class'

His scroll buzzed as the data on all three jobs were transferred to it with additional information. Jaune returned the screen to its main menu and left the Mission Center.

* * *

There was a knock at the door and the old lady opened it to find a handsome young man standing outside. He was holding something fat in his arms.

"Oh my!" The old lady exclaimed. "Garfield! I've been worried sick about him. Young man, thank you so much!"

"Don't mention it." The blonde huntsman smiled with ease. "It didn't take me that long to find him." Jaune had seen on the news that an orange cat had been stealing lasagna from a pasta shop over the last few days. When he realized the address of his client wasn't too far away from the restaurant, it didn't take long for him to put two and two together. He put the cat on the ground and it padded into the house.

"May Oum bless your soul." The old lady thanked. She pulled out her wallet, but paused in confusion and deep thought. "My, I forgot how much money I offered."

"I think it was 100 lien."

The old lady frowned. "No, it must've been more than that."

"No, pretty sure it was just 100!" Came the cheerful response.

The old lady studied the face of her cat's savior. He was still smiling. Instinct was telling her that she had offered more, but instinct was also telling her that the person standing in front of her was one who was trustworthy and dependable. "Well I must be losing my marbles then." She finally made a decision. "Here you are."

The huntsman took the 100 lien bill. "Thank you very much ma'am, have a good day!"

The old lady waved farewell. "You too!"

Jaune's smile faded as he walked away from the old lady's house. He didn't like lying, but there was no way he'd allow himself to take 350 for such a trivial task. Especially not from an elderly person. He read the details for the next job on his scroll. This one was going to take some work. He glanced at the time. It was 11:00 am. He could probably meet the client for lunch first and then go from there. He dialed the number in the job description.

"Hello?" The voice from the other end was soft.

"Is this Miss Rise Kujikawa?"

"Yes..."

"Hi, this is Jaune Arc," The huntsman introduced himself. "I picked up your request about a stalker?"

"Yeah I got the notification on my scroll. Can we meet somewhere?"

"I was about to ask you that, how about lunch?" Jaune suggested casually.

"Sure. Is the Inaba ok with you?" The Inaba was a five star hotel. Jaune cringed. it usually costed about 800 lien a night to stay there. He wondered how expensive the food was going to be. Still, it'd be impolite for him to point the fact out to a client. Especially since the client happened to be a famous superstar. Rise Kujikawa was around the same age as him. She had gained fame as a teenage pop idol a few years ago and was now a full-time actress. Admittedly, Jaune had been a big fan of hers before his days at Beacon. Of course, he could _never_ let anybody else know that. But he did think it was ironic for him to run into her like this. Had it been eight years ago, he would've been having a fit.

"No problem, what time?" The blonde knight tried to sound as cheerful as possible, even though he knew his wallet wouldn't be.

* * *

He was right. The hotel charged him 95 lien for a plate of four tiny slider sandwiches and a glass of water. He pretty much spent everything he had earned from finding the old lady's cat. Despite that, he was able to obtain some valuable information on the stalker and their habits.

It all started a week ago. Rise had received a simple message on her scroll complimenting her outfit. She texted back asking who it was but got no response. The messages kept coming and would get more specific within passing time. She thought it was just some sick joke until two nights ago when the stalker called her telling her they liked the flowers in her yard. Rise's house was gated off and surrounded by a wall so that could only mean the wall had been scaled. When her bodyguard went to investigate, he was knocked out and dragged to the front door where Rise found him. The police were called and officers were staked outside the house the next night. That's when the stalker sent her a picture from the inside of her house. The police searched the house but found nothing. The stalker sent a final message stating that the police would never catch them and demanded 5 million lien for the harassment to stop. Otherwise they were going to 'turn it up a notch'.

The celebrity was terrified and Jaune could tell from his lunch with her. He felt a rage building within himself. Blackmailing was a petty crime and he held no respect for those who stooped to that low of a level. He was going to get this person and he already had a good idea how. That's why he was now holding Rise's hand as they walked out of the hotel together, pretending to be in a relationship. The superstar had a hoodie over her head and a pair of sunglasses covering her eyes to avoid recognition, but Jaune knew the stalker would be able to identify her anyways. When they were in plain site at the hotel parking lot Jaune pulled her in for a fake hug.

"Remember, just like I told you." He whispered into her ear. "Act normal and at ease. I'll be with you the entire time."

"O-Ok." Rise nodded. It was obvious that she was very nervous.

Jaune gripped her shoulders reassuringly, then abruptly stepped away. "Well, I guess I'll see you tomorrow!" He boomed in an intentionally loud voice. The young knight called a taxi and Rise headed for her SUV.

"Where are we going today sir?" The cab driver asked as Jaune slid into the backseat.

"West Park Mall please." Jaune told him. His watch read 2:00 pm. The huntsmen had told Rise to go grocery shopping at the Regork's store in 90 minutes. Given how the stalker knew exactly what Rise was wearing everyday but only stalked her at her house during the night, Jaune guessed there was a high possibility that the stalker had been following her during the day as well. The only way to test his theory was for him to tail Rise himself and watch for any suspicious activity. Since it was possible the stalker had already seen him with Rise when they were at the hotel, he needed to go to the mall and get a new set of clothes first.

Jaune sighed. It was times like these when he wished he had a good taste in clothing. Knowing he couldn't trust his own judgement on the issue, he texted the group message he had with his team instead. _'Trying to look inconspicuous, any suggestions?'_

Caitlyn texted back first. _'Be bland. T-shirt and jeans would probably work.'_

 _'But dark colors only for the shirt.'_

Jaune nodded his head as he read her response. It made sense.

 _'A hat to cover up your highlighter-hair would help too.'_ Lux added several seconds later.

Akali followed with '^^'.

 _'Thanks guys.'_ Jaune pocketed his scroll. He hoped he was right about his theory.

* * *

An hour later and Jaune found himself sitting in the surveillance room of the grocery store wearing the new clothes he bought: a black long sleeve t-shirt and a pair of black jeans. He also wore a low-brimmed cap that hid his eyes. His old outfit was in a shopping bag laid on the floor next to him. Once he had explained his situation to the store manager, she had agreed to grant him access to the store cameras.

So here he was, watching the parking lot from one of many screen monitors, waiting for Rise to arrive. It wasn't too much longer until he saw his client pull in. She walked into the store wearing the same disguise as earlier. Jaune scanned the parking lot intently. A minivan parked in the spot right next to Rise's SUV. The huntsmen focused in on the vehicle, but quickly disregarded it when he saw a family of three get out.

A sedan cruised in and parked a row over. Nobody got out. Suspicion made Jaune zoom in on the car. The windows were tinted so he couldn't see inside that well, but there didn't seem to be any sort of movement coming from the car. It just sat there like a beowulf, waiting to pounce on its next victim. There was a good chance it was the stalker. Jaune waited until Rise left the store and got in her car. Then he called her.

"Did you see anyone? Did you find them?" Rise picked up immediately with a shaking voice.

"Yes, I think I have them." The young knight tried to sound as comforting as possible. "I want to be sure though. Go ahead and drive home, but slowly. I won't be far behind you."

"Ok, ok." Rise said in between deep breaths. She was obviously trying to calm herself. "Hey, would it be ok if I don't hang up?" It almost sounded like she was pleading.

Jaune felt a pang of sympathy for her. "Of course, just don't get distracted from driving alright?" He chided gently.

"Thanks." The relief was evident in her voice. "I'm leaving now."

Jaune eyed the suspicious sedan carefully as Rise slowly drove away. Sure enough just moments later, it backed out and followed her. There was no doubt about it now. Jaune grabbed his shopping bag, quickly thanked the store manager, and left the store through the back exit, where his cab driver was waiting. "To the front, please." He requested urgently as he hopped in the back.

The sedan was just turning out of the parking lot as they drove around the corner.

"Follow that car." Jaune directed.

The driver nodded. "That's the stalker?"

"Yeah," Jaune's features hardened. "And they're not getting away this time." He glanced at the shopping bag laying in the seat next to him and sighed. _Although I guess I really didn't need to buy any new clothes._ Truth be told, he had expected the stalker to get out of the car and follow Rise inside. If that had been the case, he had planned to follow the stalker around inside the store. But it was clear now he had miscalculated. He shrugged. It was better safe than sorry. Jaune had played it safe, but the stalker was going to be the one sorry.

* * *

The stalker smirked as he observed the patrol car across the street parked outside the gate to Rise Kujikawa's house. The police officer sitting inside was sadly overweight. The stalker had seen the man get out to stretch. In fact, he had been watching for three hours already. It wasn't that he particularly liked to wait. It was because waiting was necessary to guarantee his success. A stalker's best friend was the cover of night after all.

Another reason was the slight possibility that the officer had noticed him park his car and was keeping a close eye on him. But again, that was something that could be solved with time. If something were to remain unchanged for an extended period of time, it would become a part of the environment. Overtime people would get used to it, and eventually, ignore it. The stalker was sure that even if the officer saw him, it would slip his mind sooner or later. The fact that the officer had not approached him yet further proved he was probably oblivious. As far as the stalker was concerned, cops weren't the brightest of people anyways.

His name was Devin Ajax. Ex military. Dishonorably discharged for sexual assault. His banishment from the army had left him a bitter man. On top of serving time behind bars, getting a job had become impossible for him as he had to identify himself as a convicted felon on every single application. Eventually, he was able to find work at a fast food chain, but he hardly made enough to get by. And that pissed him off. Devin Ajax was not the type to spend the rest of his life flipping burgers.

He saw a way out of his situation when he came across some high-profile celebrity at the mall doing a meet and greet. That's when the idea came to him. Celebrities had a lot of money and with all of his military training, he had the skill set to be the perfect stalker/blackmailer. He starting following that same celebrity around that day and so began his little operation. That celebrity turned out to be Rise Kujikawa and he was confident she would give him his money when she realized that there was nothing else she could do. He had followed her all day today as well, just to make sure she wasn't trying to pull a fast one on him. But it seemed all she did was go on a petty date with some random pretty boy.

Ajax glanced at his watch. It was a little past 7:00 and the sun had set. He turned his attention back to the police cruiser. The fat cop had been getting out to stretch at least once every half hour. The next time he did so, Ajax was going to make his move. He quietly got out of his car and shut his car door without noise. He crouched behind his sedan and waited.

It didn't take long before the officer got out for his routine stretch. By the time he got back into his car, Ajax was already over the wall. Silent and precise, just as he was trained. The stalker examined the house, or rather, the mansion from inside the perimeter. Almost every single light was turned on. Ajax chuckled to himself. _She's scared. Good._ He had her where he wanted now. All she needed was a little more motivation. He had to hug the outer wall as he snuck around to the back of the house since the lights from inside illuminated most of the yard. There were less windows in the back so it was darker.

Ajax snuck up to the back door and pulled a radio jammer from his back pocket to disable the house alarm, but paused. He didn't like how it was so brightly lit inside. It was possible that the celebrity had set up cameras. If he picked the lock and walked in, he would be exposed. He hesitated a moment longer at the door as he pondered what to do. The last thing he expected was to hear a voice to jump out at him from behind.

"Aren't you going to open it?"

Ajax dropped his jammer in pure shock and whirled around to find some random guy smirking at him; one hand holding a scroll to his ear, the other in his pocket. A cap covered most of his blond hair, but Ajax could tell he was barely over twenty. The stalker was at a loss for words.

"Hold on Rise," The blonde spoke. "I'll call you back in a sec." He hung up and pocketed the scroll. "Don't you know trespassing is illegal?" He regarded Ajax in a surprisingly light manner. The smirk was still on his face. "Not to mention stalking someone is a felony."

The initial moment of shock had passed and Ajax was able to find his voice again. "What are you, the new bodyguard?"

The blonde shrugged easily with both hands in his pockets. "I guess you could say something like that."

"Well now, that's just too bad for you." It was Ajax's turn to smirk. "You should've seen what I did to the last guy." The ex-militant reached for the taser in his pocket.

The blonde saw the motion and narrowed his eyes. "I'd advise against that." He warned.

Something about this kid disturbed Ajax. It was his easy-going confidence. He wasn't trying to act tough or threatening, but it was clear he wasn't going to back down either. People like that were usually the most dangerous ones. Either that or they were just incredibly cocky and stupid. Ajax took in the blonde's youthful appearance again and decided it had to be the latter. He charged. Devin Ajax was wrong.

He was sure he had him as he saw his taser approach the kid's neck, so he was confused when just a split second later he found himself laid out flat on his back with a searing pain shooting through his arm. It took a moment for the stalker to register what had happened. The blonde must have caught his arm and twisted it before throwing him over his back. Before he could recover, he felt a fist slam into the left side of his face. Blood burst from his nose. Reflex tears filled his eyes. His head was spinning. Next thing he knew he was dragged up and slammed onto the back door of the house.

When his vision returned Ajax was staring into the blue eyes of Jaune Arc; their faces just inches apart. The blonde had a fist around his collar. Ajax became aware that his taser was no longer in his hand, but on the ground instead. Turning his attention back to the face in front of him, he realized this person looked familiar. "You're...you're the fucking boyfriend!" He gasped.

The blonde allowed himself to smile, but Ajax could tell it was void of any real humor. Then in an instant, the young man's friendly features twisted into an expression of pure rage. The grip on Ajax's collar tightened.

"Listen _buddy,_ I'm only going to tell you once, so you better listen." The blonde's tone was low and threatening. "If you ever try to come after Miss Kujikawa again, or anyone else for that matter, I'm taking you straight to the swamps and leaving you to the Grimm, is that clear?" Jaune didn't actually mean it literally, but intimidation could be a powerful tool. Most criminals were selfish enough to not take risks when their own safety was in question. Caitlyn had taught him that one.

In this case, it worked. The huntsmen's words sent chills up the stalker's spine. Devin Ajax was not one to get scared easily, but for the first time in years, he was afraid. He had just been bested by a kid half his age. With ease. He had seen the fire in his eyes, and he didn't doubt him to follow through on his threats. None of his own training had ever prepared him for something like this. He felt trapped, and he wasn't happy about it. Little by little, his fear started to turn into a rage of his own.

"I said, is that clear?" The blonde repeated.

Ajax had had enough. With his anger, his strength returned to him. "Get off me!" He snarled as he shoved the other man back.

Jaune wasn't expecting the stalker's sudden surge of strength and stumbled back a few paces. The other man threw a right hook at him. Jaune ducked and swayed to the left so that the stalker's punch flew over his right shoulder. In rapid succession, he delivered a right jab into the the stalker's gut followed by a right uppercut to the bottom of his chin. His left hook after that hit the stalker dead on in his right mandible and knocked him out cold.

In just under five seconds, the stalker was collapsed on the ground. Jaune allowed himself a deep breath to calm back down to his usual demeanor. He eyed the unconscious man curiously. The guy certainly didn't fit the usual image of a stalker. He was in good shape, well muscled, and would be surprisingly decent looking if not for the blood that now covered his face. He had moved with a good deal of athleticism to sneak in and the speed in which he threw his punches were relatively quick. Jaune wondered what his background was but soon decided it didn't matter. The man had committed a despicable act of crime and needed to face the consequences. Jaune called his client back. It was time to let her known he hand caught her friend.

* * *

Devin Ajax was thrown into the backseat of the police cruiser as the fat officer drove him to the station. Jaune and Rise stood side by side on the front porch as they watched the police car leave.

Rise breathed a huge sigh of relief. "So glad that that's over with. Thank you so much Jaune, you have no idea how grateful I am."

"Don't sweat it." Jaune replied with good nature. "Just happy about the fact that I could help put a pathetic man like that behind bars."

"Yeah." A small frown appeared on Rise's face. _You sure it's not the 1 million lien I'm offering?_ She thought to herself. The superstar didn't mind paying the money, she was the one who came up with the price after all. However, she didn't like it when people lied about the reasons they did things to make themselves look better. "So how do you want me to pay you?" She asked with a harder tone than she had intended. Jaune didn't seem to notice though.

"Well, if it's convenient for you, 1500 in cash would be great." Jaune said easily. In his own mind, it was a fair price. 500 to pay off the cab driver for his service and 1000 to use on himself. When his client took a long time to answer, he glanced uncertainly in her direction. "Um, Miss Kujikawa?"

Rise was staring at him mouth agape with a face full of surprise. The celebrity hadn't expected that answer at all. At first she had thought he was joking, but she realized now that he was dead serious.

Jaune noticed her expression and allowed himself to chuckle. "What? Don't tell me you thought I was really going to take one million for this?"

"W-well, yeah I was actually." Rise stuttered, still not quite believing it. "I mean, that was the offer."

"Yeah, and it was overpriced." Jaune laughed. He couldn't dream of getting that much money. He would have no idea on how to spend it.

Rise couldn't help but feel slightly offended. _Is he making fun of me?_

"I understand though," Jaune went on and the idea was quickly dispelled. "You just wanted to get rid of him." _And you were desperate._ He thought to himself. He didn't say it out loud because he didn't want his client to feel like he was judging her.

All of the sudden, Rise was viewing Jaune under a whole new light. He had been very professional and friendly and he had caught the stalker in an amazingly short amount of time. He even went as far as to spend the whole afternoon on the phone with her because she was scared. Although she had appreciated him, she couldn't help but feel that money had been on the huntsmen's mind the whole time as well.

But now it was blatantly obvious that that was not the case. Which meant that Jaune had been truthful in his intentions and everything he had done up until this point had been genuine. There was no denying it, Jaune Arc was just a great guy. Guilt began to well up inside Rise for seeing him as anything else. With even more gratitude than ever before, she spoke up.

"No." The superstar stated firmly. "I won't let you take such a measly amount. It's not right. Five hundred." She countered him. "Thousand, obviously."

Jaune shook his head. "1500 is the most I'm willing to accept. Or I could always just walk away with nothing." He joked.

Rise was irritated now. Why was he being so stubborn? 1500 was like a tenth of a lien for her. How could she allow herself to be that frugal after all he had done for her? It wasn't fair!

Jaune noticed her troubled expression and sighed lightly in understanding. "I don't do what I do for money you know?" He spoke softly. "As a huntsman, it's simply my duty to ensure the safety and well-being of the people around me. And that's all there is to it. The money is kind of like a bonus. Trust me, I wouldn't feel good for taking a lot of it. My family and my friends are all doing very well for themselves and I don't normally spend a lot on myself unless I need to. Right now, I'm not in a bad spot either, so although I appreciate it, I can't accept that much. I hope you can understand that."

Rise thought for a long while before finally reaching in her wallet and giving him the 1500 he had asked for. "I'm not very happy about this, just so you know." She told him, but not unkindly.

Jaune could only grin as he took the money. "Well, I thank you for it, Miss Kujikawa."

"Please, call me Rise." The celebrity offered a handshake.

"Of course." Jaune's grin turned into a smile as they shook hands. He pulled his scroll out and glanced at the time. It was almost 7:30, meaning he was already an hour late. As evidence of that, he had over twenty missed calls from Nora. Jaune sweat-dropped. He had been aware she had been calling him earlier, but he couldn't have picked up without hanging up on Rise so he was forced to ignore her. He needed to call her back, especially since his battery was about to die soon. "I should probably be going." He informed Rise. "I hope you can put this behind you and continue your career in peace."

"Thanks Jaune, for everything."

Jaune nodded and started to leave.

Rise watched him take a few steps, and couldn't stop herself from calling after him. "Hey, wait." She blurted out.

Jaune turned his head back with a curious expression.

"W-would you want to be friends? L-like with me?" Rise shuffled her feet awkwardly. She couldn't remember the last time _she_ had asked someone else to be friends rather than the other way around. But it was such a rarity for her to run into such a high-quality person like Jaune that she couldn't let it go to waste.

Jaune stared at her momentarily in surprise before letting out a small chuckle. "You have my number." He called back good-naturedly. "I'll be in touch."

Rise felt a huge smile grow on her face as she watched him walk away. She wasn't going to forget his kindness anytime soon. One way or another, she was going to repay him. Once he was gone from view, she pressed a button on her scroll to close her gate.

Jaune found himself in the backseat of the cab once more. "Orange Lotus apartments please." He instructed the driver. After the driver nodded, Jaune immediately went into his missed calls on his scroll. But before he could call Nora back, he was interrupted by another call that came buzzing in. Cardin. He answered.

"Any reason why Nora is blowing up _my_ phone trying to find _you_?" Came a somewhat irritated voice on the other end.

Jaune chuckled sheepishly. "My bad man, I couldn't answer her calls because I was on a job." He explained. "It took way longer than I thought."

"Tch, of course you were." Cardin sighed. "Well, you should get back to her, she seemed annoyed as hell. I got to get chewed out for no reason thanks to you."

Jaune laughed out loud at that as he imagined Cardin's pained expression with Nora going off on him.

"Yeah, real funny isn't it?" Cardin grunted.

"What can I say?" Jaune shrugged.

"Good question." Jaune could hear the smirk in his friend's voice. "What _can_ you say when she finds out you've been ignoring her?"

Jaune's expression instantly fell flat.

"That's right. Not laughing now are you?" Cardin snickered.

"Yeah...I should probably call her back."

"Better get to it then, unless you want her to kill you. Oh but wait, she's probably going to do that either way now isn't she?" Cardin continued with his snickering.

"Gee, thanks for the tip."

"Don't die." Cardin mockingly cautioned as he hung up.

Jaune went for his missed calls again. He pulled up Nora's name, hit call back... and his screen went blank. His battery was drained. Zero percent. Dead. He put his other hand to his forehead. _Oh you've got to be kidding me!_

The cab driver noticed his distraught state. "Everything alright sir?" He asked.

"Yeah, just fine." Jaune muttered, only hoping Nora would go easy on him later. That's when he realized he was still in his incognito clothes. The shopping bag with the outfit he'd been wearing earlier lay in the seat next to him. He sighed. "Actually, I have to change, so try not to look back here for your sake."

"That uh...won't be a problem." The driver assured.

"Thanks."

* * *

As soon as he had given the cab driver his money, Jaune was rushing up the stairs of Ren and Nora's apartment building. His friends lived on the fifth floor so it took a while for him to finally reach their doorstep. Holding his breath, he knocked. The door swung open instantly and a hand whipped out to drag him inside by the cheek.

"Jaune Arc, you are _late!_ " Nora had let go of him and both hands were on her hips. Her eyes narrowed into slits as she glared at Jaune. It would have been somewhat threatening if she wasn't wearing a pink t-shirt paired with gray sweats and bunny house slippers.

"I know I know." Jaune cowered apologetically as he gingerly rubbed his chin. "But I can explain."

"You better." Nora sassed. "Don't you know how rude it is to make your guests wait for you?"

Now Jaune was confused. "Guests?"

"Yes _Jauney,_ we have guests, which you would've known if you hadn't been ignore me the whole afternoon." Nora wasn't actually mad at him, but teasing Jaune was in her all time top five list of fun things to do. She knew her former team leader wouldn't fall out of contact or be late without good reason.

"I'm _really_ sorry about that Nora, but I was-"

"Sssave it mister!" Nora cut him off. "You can tell everybody all together." Her hand found Jaune's cheek again and she dragged him from the hallway into the living room. "Look who I found!"

"Ow, ow, ow easy eas-" His whimper cut off in mid sentence as he entered the living room. Jaune couldn't believe his eyes. There on the couch, dressed in a light blue blouse, wearing beige pants and brown leather boots, sat Weiss Schnee the heiress. She seemed to have grown even more beautiful since the last time Jaune saw her, which was a _while_ ago. "Weiss?"

"Jaune, it's so nice to you again!" She sent him a memorizing smile.

"I-I had no idea you'd be here." He stuttered, still a little caught off guard. _How long has it been?_ He wondered to himself.

"Yeah, I finally got a couple of free days in my schedule so I thought I'd pay a visit. It's been long overdue."

"Yeah it has been awhile hasn't it?" Jaune chuckled a little awkwardly. He was caught in one of those situations where he didn't really know what to say because of how unexpected it was.

"I know," Weiss said a little regretfully. "But if it makes up for it, I brought someone else with me."

A pair of hands covered Jaune's eyes from behind. "Yeah, guess who?"

Jaune could recognize the voice anywhere. "Yang?"

"You remember me! I'm touched." Yang spun him around to pull him in for a hug.

"Wow, I don't think I've seen you since my graduation, Yang." Jaune stepped back from the hug to examine her. She was dressed athletically in a sleeveless light gray hoodie with white letters, black yoga pants, and black and white running shoes paired with white half-calf socks. The sleeveless hoodie also revealed her robotic right arm, which was predominantly matte black with a few yellow accents. She had had it for a while so it was nothing new for Jaune. What was new was her demeanor. The ex-brawler was a lot more cheerful than Jaune remembered from the last time they met.

"Yeah, it's been a minute." Yang agreed. "I hope you didn't miss me too much." She teased.

"I think about you everyday." Jaune returned the teasing tone. Being around so many girls during his time at Haven had made him a lot more comfortable with them in a social setting. Gone were the days of his awkward nicknames and cringey one-liners. Instead, he carried him self in natural confidence and every conversation he had seemed to flow smoothly. It wasn't just girls. He had picked up many habits of being a gentleman and had developed quite a bit of masculinity, although he still retained some of his goofiness. Needless to say, he had matured, and everyone who was close to him knew it.

"Oh yeah?" Yang flashed her eyebrows. "What do you think about?"

"Here we go again." Weiss chuckled.

"Gross." Nora made a disgusted face.

Jaune smirked. "Oh, you know, just about all those dumb puns you used to make and how I'm glad I don't have to hear them anymore."

Nora giggled and Weiss grinned. Yang deadpanned. "You're lame."

"I'm honest." Jaune countered.

"You're also an hour and a half late." Ren walked in with an apron draped over his white button up and black slacks. "I was wondering when you were finally going to show."

Jaune instantly became apologetic again. "Oh yeah, about that. See I was-"

Ren held a hand up. "Let's talk at the table. The food may go bad if we wait any longer."

"Yeah, let's eat." Yang seconded. "I'm starving."

Ren was an excellent cook. There was no denying it. Dinner consisted of prime rib steaks, buttery mashed potatoes, a broccoli casserole, and servings of clam chowder soup. The five friends ate with satisfaction as Jaune told his story.

Yang shook her head with a rueful grin. "I can't believe you gave up one million lien! But then again, that sounds just like you." Truth be told however, she probably couldn't have brought herself to take it either. One million was too much.

"Well, money isn't everything." Weiss pointed out. "I think what you did was honorable Jaune."

Jaune colored at the praise in slight embarrassment. At the time he just felt like it was the reasonable thing to do. He wasn't sure about the whole 'honorable' part.

"The world would be a better place if there were more people like you." The heiress continued. "It's too bad some people just aren't."

"Geez, I wonder who you're talking about Weiss." Nora giggled. Everyone else laughed; even Ren chuckled. They all had a pretty good idea it was her father.

Weiss gave a small smile herself and shrugged. "I mean, it's _true._ "

"Are you still working for the company?" Ren asked.

"No, not anymore." Weiss shook her head. "It's a long story. I'll have to tell you guys another time."

Jaune grinned and shared a glance with Ren. In Weiss's dictionary, 'another time' probably meant 'never'.

"Sooo, how's the business coming along?" Yang changed subjects.

Ren and Nora had started up a consultation business and were doing it full time. Like Jaune, they had fallen on some hard times as well after the ordeal with Salem. It wasn't easy to lose two close friends within one year. They had never thought about it prior to then, but they realized how emotionally taxing it could be to hold the title of a hunter. When Jaune made the decision to attend Haven, they had decided to stay with him in Mistral too since they had no family members elsewhere. But things had drastically changed by then. With the fall of Salem, Grimm activity plummeted at a blistering rate. Atlas and Mistral stabilized rather quickly. The primary focus of Huntsmen and Huntresses was shifting from eliminating Grimm to neutralizing threats from other people, predominately the White Fang at the time.

After taking some time to think, Ren and Nora had ultimately decided to pursue a different path. It was not in their interests to witness more death or be a part of it. They started up their business with the intention of helping other hunters with whatever hardships they had through heart to heart talks, but eventually clients of all sorts of different backgrounds came looking for them. Overtime, their business had grown into a huge success. And it paid. It was evident from their apartment that they were living very well. Fifteen feet ceilings, hardwood floors, granite counters, leather furniture, and even an outdoor balcony with one of the best views of the city at night. Of course, the only thing that really mattered for Ren and Nora was that they were making a huge difference in many people's lives. They still trained in their spare time, but only for exercising purposes.

"It's been coming along pretty steady." Ren answered Yang. "We may have to look at hiring more people."

"Yeah." Nora nodded emphatically. "We've never had so many clients. It's been getting a little bit out of hand actually." Not that more clients wasn't a good thing, but she and Ren were having trouble getting around to all of them. That's why she was currently in the process of interviewing people for new consulting positions.

"Wow, it sounds like you guys are really kicking it off." Yang exclaimed in admiration. "I should totally drop by sometime."

"You know you're always welcome." Nora smiled. She knew Yang had it the worst out of all of them when she lost Ruby. The ex-brawler had fallen into a deep dark pit of self-hate and regret. Recovery was a long and difficult process. It was during this time when Nora gained a whole new level of respect and adoration for Weiss. The heiress had stuck by Yang's side through thick and thin, encouraging and supporting her until she was finally able to bring her back up on her feet. The two of them had come out of the journey with an unbreakable bond and were no doubt best friends by this point.

"So long as you don't break anything." Ren joked with a straight face.

"Who, me?" Yang shot him a dubious frown while indicating herself with a thumb. "Never!"

The five friends shared a laugh. Well, except Ren, who only smirked.

A scroll buzzed. Weiss pulled her's out and stared at the caller ID. "Sorry, I need to take this." She excused herself and strode out onto the balcony. Yang stared after her briefly with a slight frown on her face, but quickly cleared the expression. It was subtle and only lasted a split second, but Jaune had noticed it. He kept the small scene in the back of his mind.

"Oh yeah, what's Cardin been up to?" Yang asked curiously, starting a new conversation.

"Well, he was actually supposed to be here tonight." Nora answered. "But something came up with the military so he couldn't make it."

"He was tasked to oversee the training of new recruits." Ren clarified.

Jaune watched them as they conversed. It felt good to have everybody together again. It was almost like old times. Almost. _If only Pyrrha Ruby and Blake..._ He stopped the thought. This was supposed to be a happy night, he didn't need to be thinking about that right now. The young knight refocused his attention back to the present. He'd be lying if he said he wasn't amazed at how much everyone had grown. Although it was more obvious with Weiss and Yang since he didn't see them very often.

Yang seemed like she was finally back to her cheerful self. She still brought that positive vibe with her everywhere she went and the teasing was still there. But she was no longer the hotheaded girl who charged in without thinking. In fact, last time Jaune had talked to Weiss, she had told him Yang hardly got mad at all anymore. She had developed into a critical thinker who could identify and carry out the smartest strategy in every situation. She had learned to ask questions first and ask questions frequently. Her entire demeanor had gone from short-fused and aggressive to calm and gentle. It had gotten to the point where she had actually managed to obtain full control over her semblance.

Jaune would've thought it impossible six years ago. No doubt losing Ruby had caused the drastic change in her sister. And no doubt Yang had picked up her tactical thinking from Weiss.

Weiss herself had greatly matured. There was no more of the self-entitled bratty attitude she used to carry. She composed herself in elegance and grace and every movement she made just seemed to flow along naturally. She had become a lot better at expressing herself and as a result, she was amazingly empathetic. People now knew her as warm and compassionate rather than 'The Ice Queen'. But her eyes still contained her signature spark and she was still as smart and clever as ever.

Nora and Ren were still essentially the same as far as Jaune was concerned. It could be the fact that he hung around with them all the time, but compared to Weiss and Yang, their changes seemed rather subtle. Ren talked a lot more and Nora was a lot less crazy in her antics, but other than that, their personalities remained the same. Jaune wasn't complaining though, their companionship had brought him so much joy in over the last couple of years that he didn't know what he'd do without them.

Suddenly an incredibly uncomfortable pain shot through his stomach. He knew it. He had eaten too much. But he couldn't help it, Ren was just too good of a chef. Jaune quickly excused himself to go to the bathroom. By the time he came back out, his friends were already deep into their conversation and he wasn't sure if he felt like interrupting. He noticed that Weiss was still standing outside on the balcony, but the heiress was no longer talking on her scroll.

"It's really a nice view isn't it?" Jaune exclaimed in awe as he stepped onto the balcony to join her. No matter how many times he had been here, the view of the city lights under the moon and stars never got old for him. The capital building could be seen atop its hill summit overlooking the land as a symbol of protection and leadership. It truly was quite a sight.

"It's beautiful." Weiss agreed. Her voice was soft. "I can't remember the last time I had a chance to just stand back and appreciate such a scene." She was leaning against the railing with an open palm under her chin, her eyes gazing into the distance.

"I'd ask if you've been busy," Jaune grinned. "But I think I already know the answer to that."

Weiss let out a short chuckle. "Big shock, I know." A short silence passed between them. "So how have you been Jaune?"

Jaune hesitated. His instinctive response would've been something along the lines of _'_ _I've been great Weiss!'_ But for some reason he couldn't bring himself to say it naturally because he knew it wasn't true. He tried to force it. "Oh uh, you know, _really_ great." He hoped putting an emphasis on 'really' would make him sound more convincing. "Jobs have been steady, the kingdom's relatively stable right now, my family and friends are all doing great. I've never been better."

Weiss turned to meet his eyes with an amused expression on her face. "You are such a bad liar." She critiqued lightly with a grin.

Jaune thought about trying to bluff even more, but ultimately decided against it. He respected Weiss's intelligence too much. She would instantly see through his bullshit. He instead shook his head ruefully. "That obvious huh? I should really work on that."

"It's not a bad thing you know." Weiss pointed out. "They do say honesty is the best policy."

Jaune laughed at that. "I don't think I've heard that one yet."

"Jaune, what's wrong?" Concern shown on Weiss's face. "You know you can talk to me."

Jaune let out a deep sigh and closed his eyes. The matter had been on his mind a lot recently. Way more than he felt like it should have. "It would've been great to have them here tonight." He finally admitted as he opened his eyes. "I would've liked that."

Weiss nodded in understanding. She didn't need to ask who 'them' was, it was obvious. "Me too." She whispered. "We all would have. It's just not the same anymore."

"It's funny," Jaune continued and he told Weiss about how he saw 'Pyrrha' in the city. "I keep telling myself that I've gotten over it and sometimes I'm really convinced that I have. But sometimes, it just feels like I haven't really moved on at all. That I'm right back where I started six years ago. I really think something's wrong with me Weiss. It's like, why can't I just get over it?" It felt good to finally let all of that out. All of the build up over the last few days had made him a little bit frustrated. Taking jobs and hanging out with his friends had been a nice distraction, but as soon as he had some time to himself, those thoughts would all come right back up. It was relieving to spill it out to someone.

"There's nothing wrong with you silly." Weiss chided gently. "It's all just a part of the process. There's no such thing as 'getting over' it because that's impossible. Pyrrha was your partner as Ruby was mine, and all of us were good friends. That's not something you can just get over and forget about. Because they'll always be apart of us, no matter what. The hardest part for me was to accept that it just isn't in the physical sense."

"But in spirit and in the actions we take right?" Jaune finished the thought. He had told himself the same thing before, but it felt so much better and a thousand times more affirming to have someone who had been through and understood the situation to repeat the same conclusion. Pyrrha was so much more to him than just his partner, but of course Weiss wouldn't know. The only people who knew the true extent of their relationship were Ren and Nora. Jaune knew they respected his privacy too much to go around sharing that information. But still, it was nice to know someone else felt the same way as he did.

Weiss nodded. "We all think about them. We all remember them and what they stood for. We continue on their legacy. And in that sense, they're never truly gone."

Her words were so comforting and so full of strength. The smile was back on Jaune's face almost immediately. "Thanks Weiss. I really needed to hear someone else say that."

"You would've done the same for me." Weiss smiled back at him warmly.

Jaune took in the sight of the moonlight gleaming off of her hair and making her skin glow brightly against the night sky. It really was no wonder why she was his first crush. He slowly turned back towards the city. The two of them stood in comfortable silence, continuing to admire the view. They had deliberately left Blake out of the conversation to avoid talking as if she had suffered the same fate as Pyrrha and Ruby. Both of them hoped she was still out there somewhere being as stubborn as always.

"Just one question though." Jaune broke the silence after a few minutes.

Weiss raised a quizzical eyebrow. "What is it?"

Jaune couldn't resist the grin on his face. "Why are you and Yang really in Mistral right now?" His grin only grew when he saw Weiss's surprised expression.

Weiss recovered quickly. "What do you mean?" She asked, her shock turning into curiosity.

"Oh come on Weiss." Jaune spread his arms. "The first time in almost a year you decide to drop by for a visit and it's the day right before a big meeting between Atlas and Mistral? You can't tell me that's a coincidence."

Weiss eyed Jaune carefully and examined him for a few seconds. Gradually a smirk found its way onto her face. ' _Not Bad'._ "So you know about the meeting then?" It wasn't really a question.

Jaune nodded. "I'm a part of the security team for it."

Weiss slightly inclined her head. "I see." She wasn't expecting to hear that.

"So," The young knight pressed. "Anything in particular I should know about?"

Weiss internally shrugged. There was really no use to be secretive about it anymore, especially if Jaune was going to be there already. If anything, he _needed_ to know now. "Do you still drink coffee?" She asked.

"Occasionally."

"Ok, meet me at Ratsbuck Cafe tomorrow morning at ten and I'll fill you in." Weiss decided.

"Is it important?" Jaune asked.

"Quite." Weiss answered. "But don't worry about it yet, let's go back in and enjoy the rest of tonight. It _is_ why we came a day early after all."

* * *

The five of them had stayed at the Apartment until midnight catching up and having a good time. It was one in the morning by the time Yang and Weiss had made it to their hotel. Weiss had the first shower. Yang was sitting on her bed when the heiress walked out.

"Your turn." Weiss announced as she finished drying her hair with her towel. She looked back over to her friend when she didn't answer. "Yang?"

Yang had her head down and was staring at the back of her hands; well, hand. Weiss immediately knew what she was thinking about. Slowly the heiress moved and sat down right next to her, putting a hand over hers and lightly squeezing it in comfort.

(Music: Youtube - Detective Conan Soundtrack 33)

"She would've been so happy if she was there." Yang whispered. "So happy."

"I know." Weiss said softly. "I know she would have."

What Yang regretted the most was the last time she had seen Ruby. Her sister looked like she had wanted to tell her something very important and she had just brushed her off. _'Please, just go away and let me be.'_ Was what she had said to her. She could still see Ruby's determined face as she walked out of the door. _'I'm going to fix it all Yang. Everything. I promise.'_

And fix it she did. If it weren't for Ruby, Salem would still be alive. Who knew what the world be like right now? But when Ruby lay there on her last breath, Yang was nowhere near her. She was still in her bed feeling sorry for herself while her sister was out there sacrificing her life to try and make things better. She wasn't there when Ruby needed her the most. And now Ruby was gone. That's what Yang could never forgive about herself. Tears welled up in her eyes once again. Tears she had shed over and over again over the last five years. "I wish I could see her again." She whimpered. "Just once. So I can tell her how..." her voice broke.

Weiss squeezed a little harder, just to let Yang know she was still there.

"How proud I am of her." Yang was shaking now. "And how I'm so sorry." She fell into Weiss's arms and started sobbing. The heiress just sat there and held on to her. She felt tears of her own build up but willed them away. She wouldn't allow herself to break down in front of Yang. Not when her friend needed her support. The ex-brawler had actually improved significantly from dealing with the loss. It had become a rarity for her to break down like this now. Weiss figured the night's events probably triggered more memories from Yang of Ruby. They sat there in the same position for the next half hour.

Yang's eyes were red from the tears and Weiss's nightgown was completely stained. "I really want her to forgive me." Yang admitted softly after a long silence. "I just don't think I'm forgivable."

Weiss shook her head. "Ruby would've never blamed you in the first place." She assured her. "She wasn't that type of person. I bet she's looking down at you right now with pride seeing how much you've overcome. And how much you've grown."

"You really think so?" Yang asked.

"I know so." Weiss tried to sound as confident as possible.

"I hope you're ri-" Yang yawned. "-ght." Within a few more minutes she was asleep. Weiss gently tucked her in before getting in her own bed. That's when she let her own tears fall. But she made no noise. Yang would have never known. No one would've known. No one ever knew. Weiss Schnee always cried alone.

* * *

Nora and Ren were looking through an old photo album of theirs when they came across a picture of teams RWBY and JNPR standing outside in front of the Beacon Tower.

In the photo, Nora had jumped onto Ren's back and was giving him bunny ears while Ren carried a somewhat annoyed expression. Jaune had a shocked expression as he had somehow lost his footing and was in the process of falling over with Pyrrha trying to catch him with a worried expression. Yang had leapt into the air and was wearing her signature aviators. Ruby had attached herself to Weiss and the heiress was trying to push her off. Blake stood to the side looking as bored as ever.

"That was the first day of the Vytal Festival, before we were taken to the stadium." Ren recalled.

"I miss them so much Ren." Nora said somberly. "Sometimes I wish we had a time machine."

Ren pulled her closer into him. "Someday we'll see them again." He assured her. "I have no doubt about it."

"Are you talking about the afterlife?" Nora asked with big round eyes.

"No," Ren smiled. "Just faith."

* * *

Jaune walked through the dark streets of Lorraine by himself. All of the lights were off as he headed back towards his cabin. His talk with Weiss on the balcony had left him with a comfort he had never felt before. As he looked up to the sky, the moon and stars seemed particularly bright that night. _Pyrrha, Ruby, are you guys up there?'_ He asked in his mind. As if on que, a shooting star shot through the night sky.

Jaune smiled. "I wish I could see you guys again."

* * *

It was around two in the morning when Weiss received the message on her scroll. She had almost fallen asleep. Through hazy eyes, she read the message.

"We're here."

* * *

(Music: Youtube - Fast Five Soundtrack Hobbs Arrives)

 **Location: Outskirts North of Mistral**

 **Place: Private Airpad**

 **Time: 2:03 A.M**

The lights of the airpad lit up signaling the approach of an aircraft. This time in the morning, the surrounding area was dead. Perfect for a low profile landing. A single Atlas spec ops soldier waited next to the pad with 3 blacked-out SUV's. He was expecting company. He was part of an elite task force; callsign 141. Strobe lights in the sky signaled his allies had arrived. The sound of an engine got louder and louder until the silhouette of a small ship could be made out.

A twin engined private ship descended on the airpad and landed in front of the soldier. The hatch opened and eleven more men got out. The leader of the group, a middle-aged man with a distinct mustache wearing a boonie hat approached the soldier.

"Captain Price." The soldier stood at attention. "Private Joseph Allen, I've been expecting you sir."

"So you're the new recruit." Captain Price greeted. "At ease soldier, I see you've provided us with our transport." He indicated the SUV's.

"Yes sir." Private Allen responded. "They're on full tanks and ready to go."

"Good." Price nodded approvingly. "We'll go ahead and head to the safehouse to get some rest. We've got a long day tomorrow."

"May I ask for the details of the mission sir?" Allen questioned.

"Don't get ahead of yourself rook," Price cautioned. "Mission briefing will be held at 0900 tomorrow. Now let's get moving." Price turned to the pilot. "Nikolai, go regroup with Admiral Pratt, I'll see you back here tomorrow night."

"Da, I'll be waiting for your call." The pilot confirmed. The sound of the engines roared to life once more as the man pulled the ship back into the air and flew away.

Price walked past Allen and got into the driver's seat of the first SUV. The rest of the men followed suite, carrying with them multiple bags of combat gear and supplies.

A man with a mohawk patted Allen on the shoulder as he walked by. "Name's Soap, welcome to the 141 mate. Try not to get shot out there tomorrow eh?"

Being the newest member of the team, Allen had to wait for everyone else to get in before he got in the back of the last SUV. Then one by one, the vehicles drove off into the darkness and headed towards the safehouse. In a matter or minutes, the airpad was empty and deserted with no signs that anyone had been there.

 **A/N: What it is fam. It's yaboi with another chapter of this story. I know it's been a while which is why I hope this 10k chapter will make up for it. As always, don't hesitate to leave any thoughts comments or critiques. Preciate you guys for reading!**

 **KP6**

 **Oh yeah, and also, I don't own any of the characters from the other universes I've thrown in. Or Rwby**


	4. Not Just a Meeting

Jaune held the coffee in his mouth to savor the taste before swallowing it. He set his cup down and looked at Weiss who sat cross-legged in front of him. Cars and people alike passed by around them as the hustle and bustle of city life prepared for a new day. "I see you really put some thought into that disguise." Jaune joked. Weiss was dressed in all black and had the hood of her jacket completely pulled over her head, hiding all of her hair. A pair of aviator shades finished the outfit. A good portion of Mistral citizens, especially those of faunus heritage, despised Atlas political figures and military leaders. The Schnees, no thanks to Weiss's father, were particularly unpopular among the general Mistral population.

"I was in a bit of a rush." Weiss took a sip from her own cup. "I may have overslept a tiny bit." She finally admitted.

"Who, _you_? Unbelievable." Jaune shook his head in mock disappointment.

A simple shrug was all Weiss could offer. "I suppose it can't be helped, it was a late night." She neglected to tell him the reason why she had been up so late, and he noticed. But neither one of them said anything. Weiss's tone suddenly turned serious. "Jaune. What I'm about to tell you is extremely important. So please listen carefully." Her voice was soft, yet urgent at the same time.

Jaune's demeanor changed too. An understanding nod from him told her he was locked in. "I'm all ears."

Weiss smoothly stood up and motioned for Jaune to follow. She led him to a limo parked in a spot on the side of the street. The inside was wrapped around by a single row of leather seats and a small conference table sat in the middle. The two friends sat across from each other. "The meeting this afternoon. How much do you know?" Weiss asked carefully. She took off her sunglasses and pulled back her hood.

"Just the basics." Jaune took a moment to recall. "Admiral Pratt is meeting with the Council, he has a small fleet with him, and they need some additional protection."

"No," Weiss shook her head. "Not the council. It's with the Prime Minister."

"Really?" Jaune looked up in surprise. "It can't just be a general meeting then right?" Prime Minister Donald Clinton was an accomplished man with a deep political background. Before taking office, he had worked in the council for almost thirty years. He was currently in his second term as Prime Minister and many of Mistral's progressive developments were results of his contributions. Clinton oversaw all major events and situations surrounding the Kingdom so it was usually a big deal if he was involved.

"It's a proposition." Weiss answered. "A plan to unite the two Kingdoms against a common enemy."

"The White Fang?" Jaune guessed.

"Yes." Weiss confirmed. "I can't speak for Mistral, but Atlas has been keeping a close eye on them, and they've been getting more powerful, especially over this last year. High Command is concerned that they'll make another move soon."

That sent chills down Jaune's spine. He had no idea the radical organization was mobilizing again nor had he heard anything to suggest the fact. But he remembered how quick Vacuo had fallen when the White Fang invaded. Obviously, the two remaining kingdoms were in much more favorable situations, but if the White Fang was really about to make another move, then it could only mean that they were extremely confident of their capabilities and resources. And that was dangerous.

"How powerful are we talking here?" He asked.

"Our newest reports indicate their weapons production and manpower have both nearly tripled in growth." Weiss said gravely. "You can imagine how much more access they have to resources with the largest continent in all of Remnant under their control. Not to mention the stolen technology they've managed to obtain.

Jaune felt a tightening knot in his stomach. He had always assumed that with all their growth, Mistral and Atlas had become too strong for the White Fang to pose a threat. He had somehow believed that the White Fang had grown content. But now he realized that it was all ignorant thinking. According to Weiss, someone he'd easily trust with his life, they were still as ambitious as ever. He really hoped the Mistral Government had also been keeping tabs on The Fang.

"We've all seen how fast they can overthrow a Kingdom when it's on its own." Weiss continued. "But if united together, the odds stack significantly more in our favor. The proposal was drafted by Ironwood himself. He's been pushing for it for months now."

"So it's a pact of alliance." Jaune concluded. If this was Ironwood's plan, he could only assume that Goodwitch and Qrow had a hand in it as well. The huntsmen found himself on edge. He wasn't sure if he was ready for a war to break out.

Weiss noticed his state of unease. "They still have a ways to go before they'll be ready for a full scale invasion." She reassured. "But the signs are starting to point towards that direction, so we need to be ready and take precautions."

"Why send Admiral Pratt?" Based on what he had heard before, Jaune was a little skeptical.

Weiss understood perfectly. "Pratt may not be the most likable individual, but so far he's turned out to be one of Ironwood's strongest supporters. He's the supreme commander of the Navy, and he's a member of the Council. That makes him an extremely powerful ally to have. We can trust him to make a strong case."

Jaune nodded. He could now see the reasoning, it made sense. Being in the Council himself, Ironwood was already a very influential person in Atlas politics. Having the backing of a second key figure like Pratt would solidify both public and political support for his plan. Another question came to his mind. "How easy do you think it'll be for our kingdoms to come to an agreement? We both know their relationship is shaky at best."

"It will take some time." Weiss agreed. "But that's not our main concern at the moment."

"It's not?" Jaune found himself being surprised yet again. "Then what is?"

"A secret White Fang hideout was raided two days ago." Weiss explained. "Atlas was able to gain access to several sensitive files that were located inside. We're still not exactly sure how, but they somehow found out about the meeting, and they know exactly what it's for. Central Intelligence thinks there is a high possibility that they will try to disrupt it in some way."

"What? Like launch an attack?" The huntsman was on edge now.

"It's a possibility, but since there's no definite proof, High Command is unwilling to call off the meeting. It would be a loss of face and add even more tension between the Kingdoms. Ironwood was actually against holding the meeting, but majority vote was for it. Pratt is also unwilling to budge. They've doubled security and I have a tactical team on standby right now."

Jaune sat back for a few moments to soak it all in. It was a lot to take. And just to think that the same time yesterday he was enjoying breakfast with his friends without a care in the world. He was starting to feel like the precious peace that had come around after Salem's defeat was about to shatter.

"Jaune, I'm only telling you this so you can be ready if anything ends up happening. After all, it could be nothing." Weiss was calm, but the young knight could tell she was just as concerned as he was.

"Does anyone in Mistral know about this?" He finally asked.

Weiss shook her head. "Like I said, this could end up being nothing at all, so Atlas doesn't feel the need to share. High Command is also confident their forces can put down any incident quickly with minimal casualties."

"And what do you think?" Jaune noticed how Weiss kept referring to Atlas as 'they' rather than 'us' or 'we'.

His friend's expression remained neutral. "It doesn't matter what I think, the decisions have been made already. We're going to have to make the best out of the cards we've been dealt. Can I trust you to keep this between you and me?"

Jaune nodded. "Always. You don't even have to ask, you know that."

Weiss shot him a warm smile. "Of course." Jaune was easily one of her most trustworthy friends and she knew she could count on him for anything. There was just something about the way that he carried himself that instantly brought an air of reassurance and comfort with him wherever he went. Those deep blue eyes were still as mesmerizing as ever and she still felt very close to him, even though it had been such a long time since they'd last seen each other. "I've really missed you Jaune." She blurted out. "You, Nora, Ren, everyone here. I'm sure Yang feels the same way."

Jaune returned a wide smile of his own. "We've all missed you guys too. It's too bad you don't come around very often."

"It'd be different if we had more time. And if things weren't always so complicated. You know that don't you?" Truth be told, Weiss had been afraid that her friends would resent her for losing contact for such long periods of time. She certainly would if she were in their shoes. So it was a relief when everyone was so welcoming the night before. Sometimes she felt like she had better friends than she deserved. That's why she needed to make sure they knew she wasn't intentionally trying to shun them out of her life.

Jaune seemed to sense this. "Don't worry, everyone knows how busy you guys are. Nobody would ever hold that against you." He kept the smile on his face.

"I just don't want you guys to think that you don't matter to me anymore." Weiss confessed. Normally, she hated showing vulnerability. Not showing weakness was something that had been drilled into her by her father since day one. But as the years passed, she found the old walls of her past had slowly begun to break down. She still wasn't the best at expressing herself, but at times when she needed to take a load off her chest, she had become more willing to share with others, especially the people who were most important to her. She felt a firm grip over one of her outstretched hands.

"That would _never_ happen." Jaune's expression was very serious, but also genuine. "After all we've been through, there's no way. I'm almost offended you would even begin to entertain such a thought."

Weiss couldn't contain the sigh of relief that escaped her. She also couldn't help the big smile that etched itself onto her face. Gradually, the smile turned into a giggle and before she knew it, she was laughing, out of both relief and joy. Jaune joined her and the two of them shared the special moment.

"I can't remember the last time I laughed like that." Weiss admitted after she had calmed down. She felt good. Almost like a big weight had been lifted from her shoulders.

"And I can't remember ever seeing you laugh period. Like, at all." Jaune teased.

"To think _I_ was the one comforting _you_ last night." Weiss rolled her eyes in an extremely rare show of un-ladylike conduct.

"Funny how things work out isn't it?"

"I suppose." The two friends spent a moment just enjoying each other's presence. Weiss took a glance at the time. "I should probably get going." She declared a little reluctantly.

"Right." Jaune gave a quick nod. "Just one question before you go though." Weiss indicated for him to go on. "Earlier you mentioned you had a 'tactical' team on standby? Are you running spec ops for the military now? Is that why you don't work for you dad anymore?"

There was a slight hesitation as Weiss was caught off guard.

"I don't mean to pry," Jaune apologized. "I was just wondering because of what you said last night. You don't have to tell me if you don't feel comfortable or if it's supposed to be a secret or something."

Weiss chuckled. "No, no, it's okay. I just wasn't expecting you to ask that. It's not the only reason I don't work for him anymore, but it's a factor. It's complicated to explain, but basically one thing just led to another, and now I work under the Special Operations Division with a small team under my command."

"Like Winter." Jaune concluded. He noticed his friend was still avoiding the question like the night before, and decided not to press anymore.

"More or less, yes." Weiss nodded.

Jaune decided it was time for him to take his leave. "Well, I'll be off then. It sounds like it could be a long day."

"Like I said, I only told you all of that so that you would be prepared just in case." Weiss reassured. "I'm honestly not sure how likely it is that they'll actually make a move. It has been quite some time before they've made any significant noise."

"I'll be on alert." Jaune promised. "Will you be there?"

Weiss shook her head. "I'll be overseeing everything from a safehouse, but take this." She handed Jaune an earpiece. "We'll be in touch, good luck Jaune."

Jaune pocketed the earpiece. "I won't need it!" He beamed as he got out of the limo.

Weiss watched as the huntsmen disappeared into a crowd of people on the sidewalk. "We'll _all_ need it." She said softly under her breath. A reminder sounded on her scroll. The briefing was in 30 minutes. Weiss directed the driver to head to the safehouse.

* * *

(Music: Youtube - Call of Duty MW2 Spec Ops theme)

 **Location: Somewhere near Mistral City**

 **Place: Atlas Forward Operations Base**

 **Time: 9:04 am**

Weiss walked into the briefing room dressed in all white Atlas military attire. Yang greeted her at the front of the room. The ex-brawler was dressed in a similar fashion. The rest of Weiss's team, Task Force 141, sat behind the multiple rows of desks waiting expectantly. The only thing that was out of place was another older man standing in the front of the room. Weiss almost had to do a double take. "General Shepherd? Sir, I wasn't aware you'd be here."

Lieutenant General Shepherd was one of Atlas's top upcoming Generals. The last couple of years saw him rise through the ranks at an extremely fast pace. A calculating and skilled tactician, Shepherd was known for not being afraid to get his own hands dirty. "Good morning to you Captain." Shepherd acknowledged Weiss. "I was just telling Commander Xiaolong: We've received crucial new intel from High Command earlier this morning. I will be running point on this operation from here on out."

"Y-Yes sir." That was another big surprise for Weiss. If someone like Shepherd was in charge, it could only mean that this was a whole lot more serious than she was initially led to believe. "What does the intel say?"

Shepherd raised his voice so the whole room could hear. "I'm going to make this brief, so listen up. The White Fang have hired two fully armed mercenary fire squads of 8 men each. According to the intel, they're set up in two separate secret White Fang hide outs. Now, the intel has provided us the exact locations of these safe houses. Our new objective is to simultaneously take out both mercenary teams before they can make on move on the meeting this afternoon."

 _So they're taking action after all._ Weiss thought to herself.

Shepherd took out a flash drive. "Everything you'll need to know about the layout of both the safe houses are on this drive. Safehouse A is in the forest and safehouse B is in an abandoned village. I'll leave team assignments for your Captain to decide. Keep in mind that both mercenary squads are utilizing transport airships. The best plan of action will be to destroy those first. This is a straight forward mission. I want it done efficiently. And I want it done silently. No one outside of this room should ever hear about this. Let's take care of it quickly so we can all go home. I don't want to have to spend a single extra second in this damned kingdom. Private Allen?"

"Yes sir?" Called private Allen from the furthest row back.

"You'll be coming with me." Shepherd declared.

"Yes sir!" Allen got up to follow Shepherd.

"Good luck Captain." Shepherd nodded to Weiss as he walked out with Allen.

"Alright you all heard what he said." Weiss took charge. As unexpected as this new information was, it was their job to be able to quickly adapt to the changes. The ex-heiress wasted no time. "Captain Price, I need you to assign teams."

Price nodded. "Right. Roach, Scarecrow, Archer, and Ozone, you're with me. We'll take safehouse A. Soap, you take Ghost, Royce, Meat, Toad, and Chemo and head to safehouse B."

"Copy that." Soap confirmed.

Weiss nodded approvingly. "I'll go with Captain Price. Yang, you go with Soap."

"You bet." Yang smirked. "I'm ready."

"Let's go over the contents of the flash drive." Weiss decided. "We move out in two hours."


	5. Makarov

"So how do I look?" Asked Private Allen.

"Like one of the bad guys." Came the short reply from General Shepherd. "Perfect for your undercover assignment."

Allen's new mission was highly classified and according to the General, they were the only two people who knew the full details. The international terrorist Vladmir Makarov was one of the biggest names on Atlas high command's most wanted list. Shepherd's intel had confirmed Makarov's presence in Mistral City. This was the first time in years the man had surfaced out of the shadows, so it was Allen's mission to stick close to him and keep an eye out for the Atlas Government.

The main objective was to infiltrate Makarov's circle and gain his trust in order to find out where his headquarters were. Then, send the word and have the full military might of Atlas take the terrorist out. There was no telling how long the operation would last, but this was the perfect opportunity. General Shepherd was to be his handler. Shepherd had already provided Allen with a fake identity and set up a meeting with Makarov. As far as anyone else was concerned, he was now Alexei Borodin, a former soldier from Vacuo turned mercenary seeking work.

"So Makarov's the prize." Allen was determined to complete his mission. Despite his youth, he was incredibly thick skinned and always willing to do what was necessary; even if it wasn't pretty.

"Makarov's no prize." Shepherd spat in disgust. "He's a whore. A mad-dog killer for the highest bidder. He has no rules, no boundaries. He doesn't flinch at torture, human trafficking, or genocide. He's not loyal to a flag or a kingdom or any set of ideals. He trades blood for money. He's your new best friend. You don't want to know what it's cost already to put you next to him. It will cost you a piece of yourself. It will cost nothing compared to everything you'll save. Just remember your new identity, it'll keep you alive."

Allen nodded gravely, the severity of the situation was starting to set in for him. "Yes sir. I'll get the job done."

Shepherd patted him on the shoulder. "Good man. The Kingdom of Atlas will never be able to repay you for what you're about to do." He handed the private a small note. "Every detail about your meeting this afternoon is on here. Best of luck soldier. I'll see you when all of this is over."

* * *

"Area clear ma'am." Captain Price reported to Weiss. The team had caught the mercenaries by surprise. Eight men were tied up outside the compound. "We've cleaned out the safehouse. All of their intel belong to us now."

Weiss examined the empty building with satisfaction. "Good work. Load the prisoners up, we'll analyze everything back at base."

Price nodded. "Come on lads, we're Oscar Mike." He signaled to his men. They led the mercenaries out of the forest until they came across a dirt road. Two blacked out SUVs and an armored van sat there waiting. The prisoners were loaded into the van and Weiss got in the backseat of the lead SUV. The convoy rolled out.

The ex-heiress made a call. "Yang, we're on our way back, what's you status?"

"All good from our side. Race you back!"

Weiss smiled. "Copy."

It didn't take long for Weiss and Yang to figure out what the mercenaries had planned to do after comparing the intel they gathered. They were supposed to takeover the Atlas Embassy and blackmail the Council into calling off the meeting. It was a risky plan, and success would've been questionable. But that didn't make it any less dangerous. The fact that the White Fang were confident enough to order an operation like this was not something that could be ignored. Atlas would no doubt step up its guard after the day's events.

"Well, I'm sure glad we got all of that sorted out." Yang sighed in relief. The two of them were back in the briefing room.

"So am I." Weiss agreed. "The meeting is suppose to take place in just a little over an hour. I'm happy no one got hurt. You did great Yang. I'll have Price and the rest of the team transport the mercs back to Atlas as soon as possible."

Yang beamed. "Say, you want to stay another day and go out tonight? We could hit up Jaune and them. First round's on me."

"I don't know..." Weiss hesitated. "We still have to fill out our formal reports. And I still have that board meeting tomorrow."

"It's still always the same story with you isn't it?" Yang shook her head teasingly. "Come on Weiss, how often do we get to see our friends? Who knows when we'll ever come back here again? We can spare one night can't we?"

Weiss was a bit of a workaholic, and she knew it. It was a habit she had developed due to the massive amounts of stress she had experienced in recent years. But Yang was right. It really was unclear how long it would be until they'd see their friends again. Weiss thought back to her conversation with Jaune earlier that day. No, it wasn't worth it. She couldn't allow herself to disregard he friends. They meant too much. "I suppose one night wouldn't hurt." She eventually grinned.

"That's more like it!" Yang swiftly smacked Weiss's butt, causing her friend to start with shock.

"Yang! Cut that out!" Weiss felt her face turning red.

"Oh don't you worry sista, we're going to have fun tonight." Yang sang as she made her exit.

Weiss had to hide in the room for a few moments before she could bring herself to meet Captain Price.

* * *

The Capitol stood atop a massive platform that surrounded the entire building. The Capitol Square was frequently patrolled and guards stood close to the exterior walls of the structure. Jaune had been assigned a position on the outer perimeter. From his post, he had a clear view of the airpad that Admiral Pratt would be landing on. His watch read 1:30 P.M, thirty minutes until the meeting.

Weiss's voice rang in his ear through the earpiece she gave him. "Hey Jaune, just wanted to tell you that you can disregard our conversation this morning. We've received new intel and it should be a smooth meeting assuming everything goes well between Clinton and Pratt."

Jaune exhaled, relief instantly entering his system. He had been tightly wired all day in anticipation expecting something crazy to happen. The good news relaxed him immediately. "Well thank Monty," He sighed "You have no idea how much I've been stressing out."

"Sorry for dragging you into this." Weiss sounded genuinely apologetic. "I was really hoping that you wouldn't have to get involved."

"Are you kidding? I was the one poking you for info last night. I dragged myself into it." Jaune laughed.

Weiss chuckled. "Well if you insist, I guess I won't argue."

"So what does this new intel say?" He asked.

"Classified."

Not surprising. Jaune knew how spec ops worked. It made sense for Atlas keep everything under wraps, especially sense they weren't supposed to be sneaking around in Mistral in the first place. As long as the danger was over, that was all that mattered to him. But he would still keep an eye out regardless. Caution never hurt.

"I think that's enough _poking_ from you." The smirk was now evident in Weiss's tone. "How could I ever forgive myself if I allowed the mighty Jaune Arc to be brought down by mere stress?"

"Oh very funny." Jaune deadpanned. "Here's Weiss Schnee with another delivery of wisecracks. Free shipping and handling."

"Don't forget lifetime warranty."

"Oook, I'm turning this earpiece off. You're just distracting me now." Jaune was smiling like an idiot, but he couldn't help it.

"Wait," Weiss interrupted. "Thought I'd tell you Yang and I decided to stay another night here in Mistral. Since it could be awhile before we see each other again, we thought it'd be a good idea to get together one last time."

"Really?" Jaune was not expecting to hear that at all. "Weiss that's fantastic!" He exclaimed. "Ren and Nora are going to be thrilled!"

"Ok don't get too excited." Weiss chuckled. "Call me when you're done alright?"

"Oh you bet." Jaune beamed. His earlier nervousness had now been replaced by excitement. So much so that he almost didn't hear the person approaching from behind him.

"If it isn't my favorite apprentice Jaune Arc." Came a thick accent.

Jaune turned towards the familiar voice to find a huntress clad in white and gold armor similar to his own. "Fiora!" He greeted with enthusiasm. Fiora Laurent was highly regarded as possibly the finest swordsman in all of Mistral, and her reputation far exceeded any other huntsman or huntress to have come out of Haven in at least a decade. She was in the graduating class during Jaune's first year, and was the one who was mainly responsible in helping him refine his own skill with the sword. She liked to jokingly call him her apprentice in affection, though it really wasn't that far from the truth. "I should've figured that you'd be here." Jaune said knowingly.

"I cannot say I am surprised to see you either." Fiora replied elegantly. She knew Jaune well enough to know that he would try to actively be apart of anything he saw as important. She was acting as head of security for the hunter's detachment, so she was glad she had someone who she knew well and could trust. "I do expect that you have continued to sharpen your skills?"

"Everyday." Jaune assured. "You drilled that into me ever since day one remember?" He added rather ruefully.

"I would've failed you as a mentor otherwise." Fiora declared with a hint of pride. Jaune had come a long way. "Do come find me after the meeting, it would be nice to have a spar."

"Deal." Jaune readily agreed. He was always down to test his current abilities. "I'll find you."

"See you soon." Fiora waved as she strode off. Jaune allowed himself to relax his muscles some more as he settled in his stance. He zoned out the background noise and focused on all of his surroundings. He wasn't expecting trouble, but he knew it was smart to stay on guard. Anything could happen.

* * *

The ruins of the abandoned village of Kuroyuri were quite the grim sight. Very few dared to venture to such a hostile environment. It was the ideal place to hold a clandestine meeting. Private First Class Joseph Allen followed the instructions on the note Shepherd had given him to a small rundown house. His motorcycle was parked in the distance. The soldier had spent most of the morning adjusting to his new undercover identity, and now he was in character. Allen knocked twice.

A brute of a man opened the door. He was strapped from shoulder to shin; definitely not someone Allen would want to mess with. "Come in." Came a sinister voice from behind the man. Allen entered and found himself face to face with Vladmir Makarov. The terrorist was flanked by 2 more men on either side. Now that they were just a few feet apart, Allen realized that Makarov was surprisingly small in stature. But he knew better than to underestimate an enemy. The terrorist's rap sheet was far beyond any criminal he had ever come into contact with. "Ah yes." Makarov narrowed his eyes. "We've been expecting you Alexei Borodin."

"Then you know why I'm here." Allen mimicked Makarov's tone, trying to sound as cold as possible. He kept his nerves under wraps, not betraying any emotion. Shepherd had set the meeting up as an interview of recruitment for Allen.

Makarov nodded. "Consider today's job as your chance to prove your worth to me Alexei, and I will consider your request."

"Job?" Allen was caught off guard. He had expected nothing more than an exchange of words.

"Do not take me for a fool boy." Makarov cautioned. "I only take the best into my ranks. Your resume however impressive, is nothing but a piece of paper. I will need to see how good you are with my own eyes."

A feeling of unease crept into Allen. As he took a scan of the room, he recognized two more people standing in the corner. Floyd Lawton and Wade Wilson, otherwise known as 'Deadshot' and 'Deadpool' respectively. A pair of notorious mercenaries, both men were also high up on the list of Atlas's most wanted. If they were involved, then it had to be something big. The 'D-Boys', as they liked to call themselves, were very expensive. Whoever was behind this operation had to be someone with with a lot of influence. Allen didn't like it one bit. "So what's the mission?" He asked.

Makarov gave a ghost of a smile. "You will find out soon Alexei. All you need to focus on is following my instructions."

"Ooooo, now don't you just love yourself a good mystery?" Deadpool snarked, flashing his 'eyebrows' from behind his mask.

"Better get some big boy pants on." Deadshot taunted. "You look like you're about to shit the ones you have on right now."

Allen swallowed. The ambiguity was indeed making him nervous. He knew Makarov was crazy enough for anything. Shepherd's words rang in his head, _"It will cost you a piece of yourself. It will cost nothing compared to everything you'll save."_ Allen straightened up immediately. He still had a job to do, and he fully intended to get it done. For Atlas. His composure came back to him and the smirk he gave was nothing short of vicious as he addressed Makarov. "Then I am ready whenever you are."

"Very good Alexei." Makarov seemed satisfied. "Get ready. All of you. We're moving out in twenty." He ordered. "The fools have no idea what's coming for them."

* * *

 **A/N: Wassuh bitches. Lol so yeah I recently started to pick up writing again. Hopefully it can be more consistent this time. I do not own anything COD, Marvel, DC, Riot, or Rwby related. As always, thanks for reading and don't hesitate to leave any thoughts comments or critiques! Till next time fam, peace out!**


	6. No Rushin'

(Music: Youtube - Captain America Project Insight OST)

 **[Mistral City]**

 **[Location - Capitol Building]**

 **[2:00 PM]**

Dark shadows hovered over the landscape and the deafening roar of engines filled the sky as the Atlas escort fleet converged on the Capitol building. Sunlight gleamed off of the ships' all white metal plating as they took up their holding patterns over the city. Leading the formation was Admiral Pratt's flagship; one of Atlas's new state of the art aerial aircraft carriers. Heavily fortified with the latest firing systems and avionics, the 'Helicarriers' were the pride of the Atlas Navy. The carrier was flanked by a detachment of cruisers and destroyers. A small transport airship lifted off the flagship's deck and descended on to the airpad.

 _They sure know how to make an entrance._ Jaune thought as he watched the door of the transport ship open. The man who stepped out was tall and muscular, not unlike General Ironwood. But Admiral Pratt was an older man and his generous flow of white hair showed it. The admiral was accompanied by a small entourage of soldiers as he walked to meet Prime Minister Clinton, who awaited them at the entrance.

The Prime Minister's wife and his nine-year old daughter stood on either side of him. The little girl was holding a basket of handpicked flowers, which she happily handed to the admiral as he approached. Pratt in turn made little effort to acknowledge the gift and handed them to one of his secretaries. The young lady was not fazed in the slightest and showed all of her teeth in one of the cutest smiles Jaune had ever seen. He couldn't help but envy her innocence.

"Admiral Pratt, it's always an honor." Clinton greeted as the two men shook hands. "I do hope your ride here was smooth. I know it's not the most eventful of trips to make."

"Ah yes, quite the bore I must agree." Pratt sniffed with disdain as he exchanged hugs with Clinton's family. "No matter, I have the most pressing of issues to discuss with you today Prime Minister. It would be in our best interests to not waste any time with idle chat." He finished meaningfully.

Clinton smiled, but it was clear to everyone who saw that there was no emotion behind it. "Of course. Please, after you." He gestured with his arm. The admiral strode by him without a second's hesitation. Clinton and his family followed. Security converged tightly right behind the two leaders as they made their way to the meeting room. Unbeknownst to anyone, a number of the Mistral security personel weren't just normal guards. One of them smoothly activated the tracker on his watch without drawing suspicion.

* * *

 **[5 Miles Away]**

"Excellent." Makarov grinned darkly. "Bravo team is in position. The mission is a go." He instructed the pilot.

"Roger." The pilot acknowledged. The stolen transport vessel made a sharp turn and headed for the Capitol building.

Private Allen leaned back against the inside of the ship and stared out into the city, his heartbeat racing. Makarov's true intent was slowly starting to dawn on him. _Oum forgive me._ He thought a silent prayer. The rest of the mercenaries on board began readying their weapons.

"Remember kids," Deadpool chided sarcastically. "No rushin'. Let's have a little fun out there today."

"All teams head towards the target building." Makarov spoke into his mic. "Charlie team. Prepare to detonate on my mark."

* * *

Jaune diligently scanned his surroundings. By now he guessed that the meeting was well underway. Aside from the humming of the engines of the Atlas ships overhead, it was relatively quiet. The outer perimeter was lightly guarded. As far as the knight could tell, he was the only huntsman in his assigned area. His eyes caught something in the distance: a lone airship flying straight towards him. He narrowed his eyes. It was a standard Mistral shuttle. Jaune was instantly on high alert, his earlier relief completely shattered. All of Weiss's warnings came rushing back into his mind. There was no shuttle service that went directly to the Capitol building. Something was wrong. He had to alert the guards. "Hey-"

A huge explosion rocked the entire platform. Jaune was thrown off his feet by the shockwave. He whipped around to find smoke and fire rising from the Capitol building. There was a moment of pure shock, followed by stark realization. _A Bomb?!_ Jaune wasted no time and jumped to his feet. He helped one of the guards up. "Keep an eye on that airship!" He pointed urgently. The dumbfound guard nodded.

Jaune bolted towards the blast site. Smoke filled his nostrils as he drew closer. A giant hole had been torn in the outer wall of the capitol building. The bodies of several guards were littered around the blast site amidst dark smoke and fire. A huntress had also been caught in the explosion; her aura now completely drained. Jaune helped her up, but before she could say anything, bullets tore through her body and she collapsed.

"No!" Jaune raised his shield up in defense as a hail of bullets slammed against it. A second rogue airship had turned broadside on the platform and shooters were firing out from the side. The remaining Mistral guards shooting back at them from the platform stood little chance as they were gunned down in the open. "Take cover in the building!" Jaune shouted. He and two guards managed to jump inside the building from the hole caused by the explosion. The building's self defense systems activated. A missile fired from a rooftop mount scored a direct hit on the rogue airship and it went down in flames.

Jaune stepped back out into the open. The scene was completely chaotic. Multiple transport vessels had converged on the capital. Masked assailants jumped out from them and opened fire on the building as unsuspecting Atlas and Mistral guards struggled to hold them off. He had to make a call.

* * *

"Weiss!" Jaune's voice was filled with static. The sounds of heavy fighting could be heard in the background.

"Jaune! Where are you? What's going on?" A feeling of dread consumed the huntress.

"They're attacking the capitol building! ...used a bomb...building...airships are...!" It became increasingly difficult to hear Jaune as the background noises grew louder.

"Jaune hold tight, we're on our way!" Weiss was already on her feet.

"What happened!?" Yang was instantly on alert.

"That Capitol is being attacked, we have to go now." Weiss responded urgently.

Yang jumped up. "I'll get the team."

* * *

From the bridge of the Helicarrier, Captain Macmillan could hardly believe his eyes as he watched the capitol building being stormed. Most of his crew were speechless. A lieutenant called out to him. "Sir the Mistral forces are getting pushed back, should we provide close air support?"

"No." Macmillan rejected firmly. "The admiral is sill down there, we can't risk his safety. Send in a fighter squadron. I want those airships taken out. All other ships are to hold pattern. Get ground teams to secure the perimeter."

"Yes sir." The lieutenant nodded. He pulled out his radio. "Get an interceptor squadron on the flight deck. I need ground teams on station and prepared to deploy in five!" He signaled to an operator. "Tell all ships to hold position."

The operator picked up his radio. "All units hold position. Repeat, hold position."

"Get me the task force on the line." Macmillan instructed another operator.

* * *

The Atlesian transport soared through the air at full power. Captain Price clipped the magazine into his rifle and flipped the safety switch off. Clicks echoed throughout the airship as his men readied up. Weiss and Yang stood at the front of the cabin. Captain Macmillan's voice rang out in Weiss's earpiece.

"Captain Schnee, we have a situation, what is your status?"

"Is it the capital? We're already on our way there."

"The admiral is still inside the main complex. Our ground units can hold off the intrusion, but we'll need a specialized team to handle the extraction."

Weiss nodded. "We'll get him out safe Mac, you have my word."

"Thank you Ma'am, out."

Weiss quickly briefed the rest of her task force.

"Leave it to us." Captain Price assured. He turned to the pilot. "How much longer Nikolai?"

"Five minutes out!"

"Make it three." Price replied curtly.

"Yang, can I leave it to you to make sure Jaune is ok?" Weiss asked her friend in private. "It's my fault he's involved in all of this."

"I'm sure he's fine." Yang said knowingly. "He's not the same vomit boy from Beacon anymore you know?" One look at Weiss told her that she was still uneasy. "I'll find him." She promised. "Just make sure you get Pratt."

Weiss smiled in gratitude. "Of course."

* * *

Private Joseph Allen looked on in horror from the airship at the carnage engulfing the capitol.

"Do not look so afraid Alexei," Makarov regarded him cooly. "We are making history today."

Allen swallowed. "We won't last like this. Once they reorganize, we'll be cleaned out."

Makarov laughed darkly. "We won't be long boy, come." The transport touched down on the platform. Allen got out with Makarov, Deadpool, and two others. Deadshot and the other three stayed in as the airship flew off. "Hurry, we don't have much time." Makarov instructed. He led them to the bomb site. A blonde huntsmen stood at the opening in the wall with two guards. Jaune drew his sword.

"Deal with them." Makarov nodded at Deadpool.

"Oh ho ho, that's three corpses coming right up!" The red-suited man drew two katanas from his back and went straight for Jaune. The two guards opened up on him with their guns. With superhuman speed, Deadpool spun his swords and deflected the shots. A well aimed throw lodged a katana straight into the heart of the first guard. Jaune swung with a side slash. Deadpool acrobatically leapt into the air to dodge. Twisting and turning, he drew a pistol with his free hand and dropped the second guard. "There's two." Deadpool blew on his pistol as he turned to face Jaune. "Guess that makes you the charm kiddo."

Jaune sized up his adversary. Just from the opening moments, he could tell that the other man was a professional. He would have to be very careful. He saw the other four intruders trying to sneak in through the blast site and moved to block them off. A hard blow reined against his chest as he was kicked back. The man in the red suit stood in front of him once again wagging his finger. "No no, your fight's with me." He snarked. "Your girlfriend will be too if she's hot."

Jaune pulled out a radio. "There's been a breach at the explosion. I need he-" The radio exploded in his hand.

Deadpool's had his pistol trained on the huntsman. "Let's not get distracted buddy. Didn't mommy ever tell you 'one step at a time'?"

Jaune readied his stance. He was going to have to take this guy down. "No, but she did say that it's not nice to break things that aren't yours."

"Eh, good thing I never knew mine."

Jaune reacted just quickly enough to bring his shield up as the gunshots rang out. Then in a flash, the masked man was upon him, launching a series of lethal strikes with his twin katanas. The huntsman managed to block most of the hits with his shield, but his opponent's speed was enough for a few slashes to get through to his aura. Jaune rolled backwards to gain distance. Deadpool came at him again. Jaune sidestepped and knocked the other man with his shield, making him stumble away awkwardly. Seizing the moment, Jaune went on the offensive.

Deadpool recovered quickly and blocked the overhand cut that was aimed at him. The huntsman then delivered a series of quick thrusts that gave him little time to react. He was good, Deadpool had to admit. But not good enough. The mercenary parried the last thrust to the side. In one fluid motion he spun 360 degrees in the air and landed a hard kick to the huntsman's face.

Jaune hit the ground, but managed to get back up quickly. His opponent was in his face again, attacking with his katanas. His movement was irregular and hard to read and the speed of his strikes seemed to get even faster. Jaune felt his aura take an increasing amount of hits. Another hard kick sent him to the ground again. The young knight was slower to get back up the second time. He realized he couldn't win in a straight up duel. The masked man was simply faster than him. He had to think of another strategy. Quick. His aura was beginning to drop significantly and if he wasn't careful, he would die.

Deadpool circled his adversary. He would continue to wear down the huntsman's aura until it was weak enough for him to make the kill. "You look tired." He taunted. "Have you been missing your bed time?"

"I wonder what _you_ look like. Must be quite the eyesore if you have to hide behind a mask." Jaune retorted. A plan was beginning to form in his head.

Deadpool bristled. "What did you just say to me kid?"

"Yeah it's no wonder you'd want my girlfriend," Jaune continued. "Too ugly to get your own?"

"Why you little-" Deadpool flew towards Jaune both swords drawn.

Jaune's plan had worked. By getting his opponent angry, he had forced him to attack on impulse. He could already see several weaknesses in the assailant's stance and brought his shield and sword to counter. To the knight's astonishment, Deadpool changed his stance at the last possible second to counter his own. Jaune was knocked back again. Deadpool capitalized and launched another series of strikes. The huntsman didn't have enough time to recover and all of the strikes connected. Deadpool ended his combo with a hard shoulder into Jaune's chest and sent him tumbling.

Jaune felt his sword leave his hand as he landed on his back. His aura was dangerously low.

Deadpool was laughing. "Oh my lord ahahahahahaha! You think you're the first one to try that? I'm not an amateur buddy." He pointed a katana at Jaune's throat. "Not bad kid, but you've still got a long way to go. C'ya."

* * *

Two transports dropped a squad of mercenaries off on the flight deck of the Atlas helicarrier. Deadshot clicked a magazine into his assault rifle. "Target practice time."

* * *

"Captain, our flight deck is being raided! Our fighters and troop carriers can't take off!"

Captain Macmillan clenched a fist in frustration. "Send all available teams to contain. We need to get those fighters airborne."

"Already on it sir!"

"Does anyone have news on the admiral?"

"Negative sir, but Captain Schnee's team has already deployed. We should hear from them soon."

"Copy that, I want all engines at full power back to Atlas as soon as he's on board. We're not going to risk staying here any longer. This is Mistral's problem now."

"Yes sir!"

* * *

Several Mistral guards were gunned down as Allen and Makarov pushed their way through the hallway. The undercover operative was still having trouble coming to terms with the fact that he was aiding a terrorist attack. Nothing that General Shepherd had told him could have prepared him for this. He had friends in the Mistral military, as well as distant relatives who lived in the city. For the first time on the battlefield, Joseph Allen was afraid. Not for himself, but for the consequences that his actions would cause. He realized he was shaking uncontrollably as he followed Makarov into what looked to be an office.

Reality weighed down on his already heavy state like a freight train. They were in the Prime Minister's office. Donald Clinton and his family were on their knees in the middle of the room held at gunpoint. The little girl had tears streaming down her face as her parents held her tightly. A dozen "soldiers" dressed in Mistral uniform surrounded them. Allen realized that they were all mercenary imposters working for Makarov.

"Where is the admiral?" Makarov asked one of the fake guards.

"We made sure to ditch him in the confusion." The mercenary reported. "His detail probably has him in a secure room waiting to be extracted."

"What about him?" Makarov indicated Clinton. "Should we be worried yet?"

The mercenary shook his head. "We played our parts pretty convincingly. He's in good hands as far as Mistral's concerned right now. But we should still make this quick."

"Agreed." Makarov hissed, his snake-like eyes narrowed in on the family.

Clinton made eye contact with the terrorist. "Whatever it is you want with me, I'll do it." He pleaded. "But please, let my family go. Please."

"Daddy I'm scared!" Cried the little girl.

Makarov gave a ghost of a smile. "Don't worry Prime Minister. We will let all of you go together." He put a firm hand on Allen's shoulder. "Alexei. Show them the way out."

 _Dear Oum, please no!_ Allen felt a pistol being forced into his hand. "Show me what you're made of, boy." Makarov breathed into his ear. Allen was shaking even more now, his hesitation obvious. He could feel the eyes of every single person in the room boring into him. "Do it!" Makarov spat. "Prove to me you deserve to be here." Allen slowly lifted the pistol, his finger hovering on the trigger. He saw the Prime Minister's pleading gaze, and his wife's look of sheer terror. The little girl was still crying. She couldn't have been any older than ten. That's how old Allen's niece was. Allen was a tough person, but this was borderline insanity. _I can't do this._ Allen faltered and the gun dropped back down to his side. But then Shepherd's words rang in his head. _It will cost you a piece of yourself. It will cost nothing compared to everything you'll save._ Allen reached his final verdict. His job required him to do whatever it took. For Atlas. "Do it!" He heard Makarov's voice again. _Forgive me._ Three shots rang out.

The pistol dropped to the floor as Allen struggled to catch his breath. He had truly reached the point of no return. "Well done Alexei." Makarov congratulated in a sinister whisper. "You were useful after all."

"We've sent a strong message with this attack, Makarov." Said one of the fake guards.

"That was no message." Makarov replied softly. "This is a message." In one fluid motion he pulled out a second pistol and shot Allen in the head from point blank. Allen's body jolted with shock, then collapsed. Makarov placed a scroll in the dead man's pocket. "The Atlesian thought he could deceive us. When they find that body, all of Mistral will cry for war."

Makarov dragged in a dead soldier's body from the hallway and placed the pistol in his hand. "We're done here, signal the retreat."

* * *

Deadshot saw the flare in the sky. "There's the signal, time to bounce." He rounded up what remained of his squad. The mercenaries hijacked a troop transport and made their escape from the deck of the carrier.

* * *

Jaune tried to bring his shield up but Deadpool held his arm down with a foot. "Now how am I supposed to kill you if you use that?" He asked sarcastically. A flare went off in the sky. "Damn it! Always happens during the good part!" Deadpool pouted. "Well, guess your time is up." Jaune could only helplessly watch as his adversary brought his sword up for one final swing. There was no doubt in his mind that he'd lose the rest of his aura. His life was on the line now.

A loud explosion sent Deadpool sprawling. Jaune looked up to see a generous flow of long blonde hair standing over him. "I never took you as the type to like being on bottom v-boy." Yang lightly teased. But her expression was one of complete focus as she kept her gaze on Deadpool. It seemed that Weiss was right to be worried after all.

Jaune smiled in relief. "I like to experiment." He joked back as he helped himself up. He tried not to think about how close he had been to being turned into a corpse.

Deadpool had also recovered. "You know, I normally wouldn't hit a lady, but then again, they usually don't ram me with rockets. I'm going to kill you both!" He readied his katanas and dashed forward at full speed.

"Stay back," Yang cautioned. "You need to recover. I'll handle this."

Jaune nodded, she was right. "Be careful, he's good."

"Yeah." Yang smirked. "I'm better." She fired 3 rounds in rapid secession from her gauntlets. Deadpool disappeared in a fireball as the rounds made impact. He reappeared a moment later as he shot out from the smoke, aiming a double overhand cut at Yang.

"I'll cut you in four!" The mercenary crossed his swords in a X. The Huntress blocked the attack, using her metal arm as a shield. Sparks flew out as metal collided against metal. The two fighters held position, each trying to overpower the other. "Neat trick." Deadpool observed the mechanic arm. "Now die." He could tell that he was beginning to win the power struggle and applied even more pressure.

Yang grinned. In one swift motion she released all the pressure from her metal arm and slid out of the hold. Deadpool lurched forward suddenly and had to plant his swords onto the ground to retain his footing. It was all apart of Yang's calculations. She raised one leg high and brought it down hard onto the mercenary's arms. The jolt of pain sent shockwaves all the way up to his shoulders and he dropped both katanas. A second kick sent him sliding on his back.

"Now you've really done it." Deadpool growled. Jaune noticed he was slower to get up than before. The fatigue of fighting two people was beginning to show. "You want to get down and dirty with our hands? Fine! Let's wrestle baby." The mercenary prepared himself to charge.

"Shut up." Yang deadpanned. This guy talked way too much. She opened the palm of her metal hand on him, revealing a repulsor. A powerful beam shot out and scored a direct hit.

"What the-" The explosion rocked the entire platform and shrouded the area in smoke.

"Monty Oum what did they put in that thing?" Jaune's jaw dropped to the floor.

"The latest Atlas tech." Yang said simply. "I would've done that sooner, but it takes time to charge."

"Aaand there's another reason to not get on your bad side. I swear the list gets longer everyday."

"Relax." Yang smirked. "You make me sound like some monster."

"Well you _are_ pretty scary." Jaune teased. "In a good way of course." He added when she glared at him.

"So this is the thanks I get for saving your life?" Yang cocked an eyebrow.

Jaune laughed. "You know I love you."

Yang smiled. "That's more like it."

"You fucking bitch!" Deadpool stumbled out of the smoke; aura completely drained. "I'm not done yet. You can't get rid of me that easy, just wait until I get my hands on you!" He took another step forward, then froze. Something had hit the back of his head. Hard. "Mother...fuck...er." The mercenary slumped forward as he lost consciousness. In his place stood Weiss Schnee, the ex-heiress.

"Weiss!" Jaune exclaimed, surprised and relieved at the same time.

"Jaune, are you hurt?" The concern in her voice was evident.

"I'm fine." He reassured. "I've got the most dangerous monster in all of Remnant right here with me." That earned him a hard shove.

"Thank goodness." Weiss exhaled.

"Did you find the admiral?" Yang asked.

Weiss nodded. "Price and the team have him back on the helicarrier, but the attack is already dying."

Jaune looked around and noticed how much quieter it had become. The rogue airships were disengaging and the Mistral forces seemed to have regained control of the perimeter. "They're retreating." He voiced his thoughts.

"Seems that way." Weiss echoed. "But I don't understand how this could have slipped under us. The intel should have been solid."

"There could be a third party involved." Yang suggested. It made the most sense to her. Weiss was right, the information they had collected from their raid earlier gave no indication that there were anymore hit squads in Mistral sent by the White Fang. But there was one thing she knew for sure. "This is going to be one messy aftermath."

"Tell me about it." Jaune sighed. He couldn't believe the purpose of all of this was just to stop a meeting. It was an unnecessary waste of lives.

"Maybe our friend can give us some insight." Weiss turned to Deadpool, only he wasn't there.

"Up here you cucks!" The three of them turned to see Deadpool hanging out the side of a stolen Atlesian airship. The mercenary hurled a frag in their direction. "Adios!" He gave a two finger salute.

The grenade landed at Weiss's feet. She brought up her hands to shield herself. "Weiss look out!" A body slammed into her and sent her sprawling. Jaune Arc dove on top of the grenade right as it went off.

* * *

 **A/N: Yeah I know...It's been forever...but in my defense college life is busy as hell lmao. However, I do plan on sticking with this story to the end, as I have had everything mapped out for quite some time. Hopefully I will be able to crank out the next chapter soon since it's my spring break. As always, thanks for reading and don't hesitate to leave any thoughts, advice, or critiques! Peace!**

 **KP6**

 **P.S: Shout out to all of you who get the references though!**


End file.
